The Legend of the Sky Cat
by Kissy Fishy
Summary: "A creature unlike any other," said Professor Oak. "In legends, it is called the Sky Cat. It invades the mind, destroying opponents from the inside. It's more dangerous than any other Pokemon in the world. And that is why you, Ash Ketchum, must slay it."
1. Welcome Home

"It's a creature unlike any other," said Professor Oak. "In legends, it is called the Sky Cat. It invades the mind, destroys its opponents from the inside, or so the stories say. It's more dangerous than any other Pokemon in the world. And that is why you, Ash Ketchum, must slay it."

_The Legend Of the Sky Cat_

_"She held the world upon a string, but she didn't ever hold me. She said she won the world, at a carnival, but she couldn't ever win me, because she couldn't ever catch me" -Panic At the Disco "She Had The World"  
_

**WARNING: this story contains Pokeshipping, Contestshipping, and Ikarishipping. GO IKARI!!! **

***AN: I'm taking a big risk by publishing this before I've finished it, but I really can't wait to publish it. I made Ash a lot smarter than he is, cuz I can't stand him being such an idiot. The preview down there is what I HOPE I will put in the story. Some of it for sure, some of it not. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!***

Preview!!!!

"Yacaeli is a demon, a mishap that never should have happened," Arceus growled menacingly.

Paul panted heavily from where he lay against the tree, his legs a bloody, mangled mess. Dawn's tears could not be stopped. (Will he live???)

"I'm sick of being the plaything of a Pokemon with PMS," Drew snapped, clutching his wounded arm. "She's toying with us, Ash, and you know it."

Ash leaned closer. "Misty," he breathed, "please, wake up."

A pair of eyes blinked out of the darkness, bright as the moon against the night. "Yes," whispered Yacaeli. "These humans listen well, don't they?" She looked to the sky and gave an almighty roar. "Look at me now, Arceus!" she howled. "Just _look at me now!_"

**********************************"Paragraph Break" means changing of POV or time. In this case, we're going from AN to story.*************************

I have to admit, my first day back home did _not_ go the way I'd hoped.

First of all, there was no party. _None._ After being a champion in countless leagues and contests and having just won another, I expected some sort of celebration.

Second, my mom wasn't home. That was a pretty big surprise. What was bigger, however, was when I walked into that empty house and saw the mess. Mom usually kept the house spotless, and it appeared as if it had just been ransacked.

Third, there were three missed calls on the phone. Two were from Professor Oak, the third from Rowan.

Dawn, Brock, and I stood in the doorway, staring around in confusion and listening to the insistent beep of the phone as it waited to be answered.

"This is _definitely _not right," I stated.

Dawn whistled. "I'll say. Isn't your mom a cleaning freak?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I wonder if something happened to her." Panic shot through me. What if she'd been kidnapped by Team Rocket, or Galactic, or whatever team we were on now. There's too many of them out to get me.

Brock stepped over what used to be a stack of plates, now broken on the floor, and made his way over to the phone. "Got three messages here," he alerted me.

I let my backpack slide off my shoulders and fall to the ground with a thud. Pikachu leapt off my shoulder and began sniffing around, curious. "Play them," I commanded.

Brock shrugged and hit play.

Immediately Professor Oak's face appeared on the screen. "Ash? Are you home yet?" He looked overwhelmed, and something went flying over his head. He ducked and continued talking with a chaotic scene behind him. "Tracey, get that Larvitar! Anyways, Ash, come as soon as you get this."

The second message began playing. It was Oak again, but with more screaming and pandemonium. "Ash, where are you? If you're ignoring me, I'll tell your mother! Hurry up and get over here before things get out of control!"

I stared at the screen until the third message began playing. Rowan's ancient face appeared in a much calmer environment, with an unreadable expression. "Ash," he said serenely, "I have a book waiting for you at Professor Oak's lab. Please return my call when you get it."

With an arched eyebrow, Brock turned and stared at me. "So… we're going to Oak's?"

I shrugged. "Looks like it."

**********************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

I was really looking forward to riding in a car, after walking for nearly the whole year, but Mom's car was gone. We trudged up the hill to Professor Oak's windmill lab, grumbling the whole way. All thoughts of my mother being in danger had been temporarily forgotten.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, sprinting up ahead. He sniffed one of the flowers that sprouted out of the grass happily, as if it were a sign he were finally home. Suddenly, he perked up, on alert, his ears flicking around his head like radar.

"What is it, Pikachu?" I asked.

A soft breeze whistled around us, the only sound for a brief instant. Pikachu shook his head and gave me a smile. "Pika!"

"That was weird," Dawn murmured.

"Yeah," Brock agreed. "It was like he was thinking."

I punched Brock in the arm as he snickered about his joke. "Keep that up and Pikachu will shock your brains out."

Lately Brock had taken on the role of being the comedian of the group, and it was driving me crazy. You'd think that after knowing a guy for six years, he'd be a little more… tolerable. Nope! Not Brock! He still had to fall in love with every girl he saw, and now he had taken on the habit of making bad jokes. I kept waiting for him to comment on Dawn's outfit, just to see how she'd react.

Brock continued to chuckle to himself. I rolled my eyes at Dawn and we continued to plow up the hill. When I was little, I used to trudge up this hill about ten times a day when it snowed. Gary and I would sled down it at high speeds, with grins frozen on our faces.

I was glad, really glad, that Gary had stopped being such an arrogant snob and decided to show me a little respect. He had gone into the researching field, like his grandfather, and apparently he was on his way to becoming a legendary professor. I kinda hoped he'd be visiting his grandpa.

Finally, we reached the top. The windmill spun in the light breeze, which was probably a lot stronger up there. We couldn't see through the tinted windows of the lab, but we could hear. It sounded like all hell was breaking loose in there.

Timidly, I went up and knocked on the door. "Professor?" I called.

The door burst open, and a Yanma came flying out. Tracey went sprinting after it, brandishing a pokeball. "Yanma, return!" he cried.

The Pokemon avoided the beam and continued its ascent into freedom. Tracey stamped his foot in frustration. "Fine!" he yelled. "I never liked you anyways, you stupid bug!"

"Did it get away?" called a mildly disappointed voice.

Tracey whirled around. "Shut up, Paul!"

"Paul's here?" Dawn cried.

For the first time, Tracey seemed to notice us. "Oh, you guys are here! Great, great, c'mon in, before something else gets out."

With one last glance at the speck that was the escaped Yanma, Tracey led us into the lab. He quickly shut the door behind us so nothing else could make a break for it.

Inside the lab, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Papers were scattered all over the floor, along with pencils and other such materials. From what I could see of the stairs, the living area above it was a wreck as well. Pokemon were running wild around the lab, screaming as loud as they could and knocking over anything in their path. At one of the tables sat Paul, arrogant as ever, his feet up and a book in his hands. He sipped tea daintily, and seemed untouched by the chaos around him.

"Well?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the book. "Did you lose it, paper boy?"

"Only because you wouldn't help me!" Tracey screamed. "God, you're a jerk!"

"I am nothing of the sort," Paul replied intellectually. "I simply acknowledged your failure."

Tracey was steaming. Out of one of the other rooms, carrying a sobbing Chansey, came May. Her bandana had gone from red to orange, and she looked lividly at Paul. "Maybe if you weren't such a lazy mouth-breather, we wouldn't have Pokemon flying out the windows like they are!"

Paul was on his feet in an instant, glaring at May. His eyes burned with a deep hatred. "How dare you, you insolent little--."

"Paul!" Dawn cried, appalled.

He froze at the sound of her voice, but did not respond to her. However, he sat back down in his chair. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't realize there was a lady present."

This made May bristle all the more. She turned a bright red and opened her mouth to insult the purple-haired jerk again, but at that instant Mom waltzed into the room.

"Ash!" she cried, and she rushed over to embrace me. "My poor baby, I've missed you so much! How are you? Have you been keeping clean? Changing your—."

"Mom!" I cried indignantly. My friends snickered lightly, but I ignored them. Mom was alright. That was all that mattered. I decided to change the subject. "What happened? Why's everybody here?"

"Well, Ash, that is a funny little tale all in its own," Professor Oak stated, chasing a Chikorita around the room. He swooped it up in his arms, pulled a pokeball out of his pocket, and the Pokemon returned to it in a beam of red light.

Brock looked around. "Where's the little pipsqueak?" he asked.

"Right here," said a voice, and Max yanked Brock down by the ear, much to his annoyance. "Call me that again and I'll yank it off."

Something chimed, like a cell phone. May pulled one out of her pocket and looked at screen. "Drew is on his way here," she alerted us.

"What happened?" I asked again.

"Oh!" Oak exclaimed. "I nearly forgot! Professor Rowan left you this… if only I could remember where I put it."

"Anyone going to tell me what happened?" I repeated for the third time.

"I think I saw it over here, Sam," Mom called, hurrying off to search for the book.

Paul held up the book he was reading. "Looking for this?" he asked nonchalantly.

May snatched it from his fingers. "_Why_ didn't you mention that you had it earlier!?" she cried, outraged.

"Or everyone could just, you know, ignore me. It's not like it's a big deal or anything," I continued.

Dawn had joined the fight between May and Paul. "Cut it out, both of you! I don't like seeing my friends fight!"

"Mrs. Ketchum, we have the book!" Tracey called.

"I would like everyone to know that I am an art thief, and have stolen millions of dollars worth of paintings that I store in my spare pokeballs," I announced loudly. No one was listening.

"Oh, so you're defending this arrogant jerk?" May demanded, glaring at Dawn.

Dawn blushed. "What? No! I—I just don't want you guys fighting is all," she finished in a small voice.

"Pika, pikachu pi pika," Pikachu stated matter-of-factly, his little yellow arms folded across his chest.

"Is no one interested in me?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"Max, let go of Brock's ear," Mom commanded sternly. The young boy obeyed without another thought.

Tracey pointed a finger at Paul. "You," he said. "Make yourself useful and go capture that Scyther." He pointed through the window to the green razor Pokemon that was slashing around outside, destroying the bushes on the side of the house.

Paul's face remained stony. "Make me," he said.

"Max, go get the Mareep that's eating the sheets upstairs," Oak told the little boy.

"Look out for that Tauros!" someone exclaimed, and everyone leapt to the side to avoid the rampaging bull.

"I really hate you," May growled in Paul's face.

Paul smirked in response. "And we've only known each other for… three hours now?"

"Where did that book go!?" Mom cried, exasperated.

"It's over here, Delia," Oak replied. He waved it in the air as he tried to gather up his papers.

A Duskull hovered near the light in the ceiling, fascinated. Tracey threw a pokeball to catch it, but the creature dodged it. Otherwise it gave Tracey no more notice.

Max came rushing down the stairs. "The Ponytas aren't in their stables anymore," he announced.

"What?" Oak questioned. He swore softly and dropped all his papers in frustration.

Suddenly, the front door burst open, and Drew came in, wrestling with the Scyther from earlier. "Hurry, catch it!" he said.

Tracey leapt into action and managed to secure the creature in its pokeball. "Finally!" he sighed. "We got one of them."

A beautiful redhead came in after Drew. "You've got about six Ponytas setting your hill on fire," she said. I flinched as I recognized the voice. It was Misty, with her hair back in a messy ponytail and the natural beauty of a make-up-free face. She looked like she'd just been pulled out of a battle at the gym. What was _she_ doing here?

"Well don't just stand there go get the beasts!" cried Oak, throwing a flurry of papers in frustration.

The next half hour was spent herding the loose Pokemon into their stables or pokeballs. Everyone was snippy and in a bad mood, except for Drew. The guy was so smug and confident that nothing brought him down. Dawn was flushed a soft pink from her fight with May about Paul, who were huffing angrily and stony silent, respectively.

I didn't receive an explanation for our get-together until all the Pokemon had been secured in their homes and all the chaos had vanished. The lab was left with three broken windows, a smashed table, half-eaten sheets, papers scattered, and eleven disgruntled humans. We were seated around a crooked table that the rampaging Tauros had missed, silent.

The quiet was broken when Misty said, "Drew, you play _weird_ music in your car."

"Well, sorry if you don't like Pearl Jam," he replied with a smirk. "I wasn't about to listen to Kesha and Lady Gaga. Even you with your mallet couldn't coax me into that."

"If you'd played that, I would have beaten you to a pulp," she replied casually. Yep. Same ol' Misty. "I wanted to hear some Muse or AFI."

Drew snapped his fingers. "Why didn't you say so? I had AFI in the glove box!" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Along with Flyleaf, Collective Soul, the Clash, Green Day—."

"You had Green Day in the car and you didn't say anything!?" Misty was flabbergasted. "That is a cardinal sin. How could you _not_ offer to play Green Day?"

"Dude, I like your taste," Brock complimented. He held out his fist and the two knuckle-punched.

"I hate all of those," May snapped. "Death Cab for Cutie and All Time Low."

Dawn looked dreamy. "Owl City, Never Shout Never, and Avril Lavigne."

It was a debate about music. Of course I had to voice my opinion. "Sublime, Metallica, the Offspring, White Stripes, and Kings of Leon."

"This talk of music is thrilling, really," Paul the Party Pooper interrupted, "but we came here for a reason, didn't we?"

My mom fixed me with a hard stare. "You listen to the Offspring?" she asked, shocked.

I grimaced and didn't reply. Obviously she didn't find the Offspring appropriate.

Prof. Oak cleared his throat. "Right. Well—." He slammed his hands on the table. "Where did I put that book!?" he howled.

Tracey leaned down and scooped it off the floor. "Here," he said.

"Oh, yes, thank you," Oak said, somewhat embarrassed. He accepted it with a light blush in his cheeks from his outburst and cleared his throat. "Right. Well, here we have a mythology book from the Anumic Islands."

"Where's that?" asked Dawn, ever curious.

"Somewhere off the coast of Johto, it doesn't really matter." Oak waved away her question. "Anyways, some pretty weird things have been happening over there, which…," he paused, searching through his papers, "I turned into a poem." He whipped out a piece of paper and began to read. "Ahem. 'The Pokemon have, gone wild as a frightened child, so we are helpless'."

We were silent. "Wow," Misty finally said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That was _really_ stupid."

Professor Oak glared at her, but otherwise ignored her comment. "Basically, the Pokemon are going absolutely feral, revolting against their Trainers, even killing some people."

"Why?" I asked, instantly hooked.

Tracey took over from Oak. "We think it has something to do with that book right there," he said, pointing.

"That?" said May skeptically. "But that's just a book of legends."

"Extremely crazy legends," Paul put in dryly. "Did you even read some of them?"

"I did, actually," Oak replied. He flipped open the ancient book and began skimming the pages. "There's one in particular that we were after…"

Drew kicked back in his chair and put his feet up. "Johto is hundreds of miles away. How does this affect us?" he asked.

"Drew, did you happen to miss the wild Pokemon destroying our lab?" Tracey asked. "The insanity isn't only in the Anumics anymore. It's spreading to all of the regions, as far as Sinnoh. And that means Kanto is included."

Brock looked confused. "So all those Pokemon went crazy because of some age old legend about some islands in Johto?"

"That's the theory," Oak murmured.

Mom looked sad. "That's why Mimey disappeared. He tore through the house like a hurricane and then he vanished."

My eyes widened. Mimey was gone? Now we knew why the house was a disaster when we got there.

"Ah, here it is," Oak declared, setting the book down. "'The Sky Cat'."

***AN: What do you think? Good? I hope so! I'm sorry if there's spelling errors, but it's late and I don't want to check it. I'll do it tomorrow. Thanks for reading!***


	2. What's in a Name?

_"What hurts the most, was being so close, and having so much to say, and watching you walk away. And never knowing, what could have been, and not seeing that loving you, is what I was trying to do." - Rascal Flatts "What Hurts the Most"_

2 What's in a Name?

Paul arched a skeptical eyebrow. "'The Sky Cat'?" he repeated. "That was the craziest one of all."

"Ooh, it sounds cool!" Dawn exclaimed. "Read it read it read it!"

It's not our theory," Tracey growled. "This was all Gary's idea."

I sputtered with laughter. "We're taking advice from Gary?"

"Gary has become an excellent young researcher and I would take his advice before my own," Oak snapped, clearly annoyed.

Mom looked at me with disappointment. "Show Gary more respect," she told me.

"I want to hear the story too!" May insisted.

"Me too," Misty said. "So everyone shut up!"

We all fell silent, secretly cowering at the thought of an angry Misty. Earlier, I had seen the outline of that wretched mallet in her bag, and I did _not_ want to feel its wrath.

Oak grinned. "Thank you, Misty." He cleared his throat. "'The Legend of the Sky Cat'," he read. "In the beginning, there was Arceus, the Great Creator. Before he created the universe and every living thing, he was lonely. He took the beauty with which he made the stars, the softness with which he made the clouds, the power with which he made the water, and the purity of which he made dreams. With these things, he created himself a wife." He paused from the reading. "They assume Arceus to be male in this," he explained.

I thought it was a little strange for Johto people to be talking about Arceus, but I pushed the question to the back of my mind with the intention of waiting for Oak to finish reading.

"He called her Yacaeli, or Cat of the Sky," Oak continued. He lifted the book to show us the picture. "This is what she supposedly looks like." I felt like a little kid in one of those library reading sessions, where there's some lady up there reading a book in a really annoying voice and showing the pictures with every word she says.

I found myself gaping at the drawing of Yacaeli, despite its crudity. She resembled a lion, but whoever had done the picture put stars in her fur, with a dark black streak running down her back. Her eyes looked like they were supposed to be moons. Intricate designs curled up her legs, like wind or water. Curling, silvery wings unfolded from her shoulders, sparkling like a starry night. It was the strangest looking creature I had ever seen.

"Arceus loved Yacaeli immensely, and it is believed that he created the universe for her. Together, they birthed the Legendary Pokemon. He made the earth, and Yacaeli made the moon, connecting the two with the water.

"Unbeknownst to Arceus, he had created three beings that, together, were more powerful than himself," Oak continued. "The Dragon Trio: Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Yacaeli foresaw this, and she warned him. Arceus, however, assumed there was nothing more powerful than he, and he grew furious at her suggestion. He banished her to earth."

Drew whistled. "Lover's quarrel, huh?"

"How come all these legends have to do with lovers getting screwed over?" Brock wailed. "It's like history is telling me I'm doomed to fail."

Misty grinned. "History _does_ repeat itself," she remarked.

"As we've seen exceedingly in Brock's life," May added.

Professor Oak cleared his throat. "May I continue?"

Everyone fell silent. I allowed Pikachu to jump onto my lap, and I scratched his head.

"Where was I…?" Oak wondered. "Oh yes, here we are. Angry at Arceus, Yacaeli called the Dragon Trio to her mountain, and told them how to defeat Arceus. They, in turn, stormed the Hall of Origin (see the Defeat of Arceus) and forced him to surrender. Arceus discovered Yacaeli's treachery, and came down to earth to battle her.

"Yacaeli lost the mighty fight, and as punishment, Arceus took away her powers. He returned to the Hall of Origin, once again lonely, and vowed to never see his wife again. That is why the moon pulls the water, creating the tide. Yacaeli's home misses her." Oak looked up from the book. "Tragic, isn't it?"

Dawn looked like she was ready to cry. "That's so _sad!_" she cried. "Poor Yacaeli!"

"Yacaeli is the one screwing all this stuff up for us now," Tracey muttered. "She's pissed, and she's taking it out on Arceus's beautiful earth."

"But he took her powers away," Drew pointed out. Despite his earlier nonchalance, he had really gotten into the story.

Max pushed his glasses up on his nose to prevent them from falling. "Not exactly," he stated. "See, I was talking with Gary yesterday and he explained that Yacaeli might have gotten her abilities back."

"You talk to Gary?" May asked, confused. "You've never even met him!"

"Dad took me to Sinnoh when you were in Johto," he said. "Gary asks me for help with his research all the time now!"

Misty coughed, "Nerd!"

Paul rolled his eyes and folded his arms stonily. Brock narrowed his eyes at Max. "Alright. Explain how she got her powers back."

"Well, Arceus couldn't destroy her abilities, nor absorb them himself, so he kept them in the Hall of Origin, supposedly in a jar." He gestured to the book. "There's something in there about people trying to steal Yacaeli's powers, but it's more of a side note. Anyways, we think that Yacaeli broke into the Hall of Origin when we last saw Arceus, and stole her abilities back. Now she's mad and is unleashing them on earth."

"That's a really big stretch," Drew said.

"Oh, stop it," May snapped at him. "You're just being critical because he's a little kid."

"I have no reason to be critical of him," Drew replied shortly. "Although of _you_… well, that's another story."

"Can you guys just shut up?" I said, exasperated. They glanced at me, glared at each other, and fell silent. "Thanks."

Dawn spoke up. "How did people in Johto know about Arceus? I thought he was Sinnoh only."

Professor Oak showed us the pictures again. "The drawings resemble Arceus, and the story of him somewhat fits the same one the people of Sinnoh have. However, it says in the beginning that they only assumed this was Arceus. Apparently, in the original stories, they only referred to him as the Great Creator."

So Yacaeli is making the Pokemon go crazy?" Misty asked. "That's pretty powerful."

"And the fact that it's reaching all the way here to Kanto is even more frightening," Oak said. "Gary and Professor Rowan said they think it has something to do with the fact that Arceus made her out of dreams. It's their theory that she attacks the mind."

I hesitated. "And what do you want us to do?"

Professor Oak fixed me with a hard stare. "She's a creature unlike any other," he said slowly. "She invades the mind, destroys her opponents from the inside. Yacaeli is more dangerous than any other Pokemon in the world. And that is why you, Ash Ketchum, must slay her."

I recoiled so violently my chair tipped over. "What?" I replied.

My mom's reaction was similar. "Now hold on, Sam, you didn't say anything about my baby going to kill anything!"

"Delia, I'm sorry, but he's the only one who can do this," Professor Oak explained. "Gary said so."

"_How_ is he the only one that can do this?" Misty put in. I glanced at her, and was pleased to see her face was streaked with worry. "There's no frickin' legend that says 'Ash Ketchum must kill Yacaeli, and no one else will do'."

Paul grimaced. "There kinda is," he said quietly.

All of us whipped around to stare at him. "_What!?_" we all cried.

He shrugged. "It's the last one. Look."

We all scrambled to get the book, and I wound up with it in my hands. Hurriedly, I flipped to the last few pages, and started reading aloud.

"When the world's delicate structure is shattered by those who are bent on revenge, by treacherous liars, and by confident failures, a champion will arise. He is the smoldering Ashes of a once great fire, born from the Daughter of the sea. He is covered in sparkling Dew, flanked by the Small and the Courageous and guided by the one who wields the Spear. He hunts in the Morning, with the Flowers and his Greatest allies with him."

Misty looked over my shoulder, confused. "How come some of these words are capitalized?"

"To add emphasis, I think," Professor Oak guessed. Suddenly, the phone rang. He raced to answer it.

"Paul, how do you know this talks about Ash?" Drew asked.

Paul shrugged, glancing over at the screen Oak was talking to. "It looks like Gary can help us out."

We all rushed to crowd around the tiny screen. "Gary?" we were all shouting. "Gary?"

"Hey everyone," Gary greeted, grinning (woo! Go alliteration!). "Like the book?"

"No, not in the least!" Mom cried.

Misty tugged the book out of my hands. "How come some of these words are capitalized?" she questioned.

Gary looked shocked. "I thought that was obvious."

"Well, it's not, so give us a hint, will ya?" snapped May.

With a smirk, Gary explained. Slowly. "Think, everyone. What do we capitalize when we write?"

Dawn jumped up, excited. "The beginning of the sentence!" she exclaimed.

"And?" he prompted.

She paused, uncertain. Paul sighed and answered for her. "Names," he said.

Mockingly, Gary clapped his hands. "Bravo, everyone! So that makes those words…?"

"Names!" Dawn said. "They're names!"

I wrenched the book back from Misty, rereading the paragraph. Well, the "Ashes" one was kinda obvious, but I wasn't the son of the daughter of the sea.

"Oh yes you are," Gary replied when I voiced this thought. He looked at my mom. "Ms. Ketchum, what does your name mean?"

Mom hesitated. "I've never been able to find an exact definition. Everything I've found just says 'from Cordelia'."

Gary looked agitated. "Did you ever bother to find out what Cordelia meant?"

"No, why?"

He exhaled in exasperation. "It means daughter of the sea."

We all exchanged terrified looks. "So all of these are names referring to us?" Brock asked. He looked down at the pages. "I don't see anything about a badger!"

I snickered. "Your name means badger?" I scoffed.

Pikachu laughed along with me. Misty tore the book from my grip; if our book-snatching kept up, the thing was going to be in tatters be the end of the evening. "Which one's me?" she said excitedly.

"The one about dew," Gary told her.

Misty looked appalled. "Ash is going to be covered in me?" she gasped.

"That's what she said!" laughed Drew. May smacked him, and he broke off with a quiet "Ow."

"C'mon, Drew," May sneered. "Let's see which one you are."

Drew looked confident. "Andrew means courageous and manly, so good luck twisting that one."

May's expression was slightly angered, but as much as she liked to, she couldn't slander Drew's heroic name. "Well, who's small, then?"

No one answered.

"Is greatness on there?" Max asked. "That's me, I'm greatness!"

"Yes, you're on here," his sister assured him. "Which one am I?"

"I'm the morning!" Dawn said happily. "You hunt in me, Ash!" Suddenly, she looked less thrilled. "That sounded really, really wrong."

Misty snickered. "Who carries the spear?" she asked, looking around.

"That would be me," Gary admitted, raising his hand.

"Then that makes me small or flowers," May muttered.

I put on a thoughtful expression. "You've gotta be flowers."

She stared at me. "Why?"

I stared at her as if it were obvious. "April showers bring May flowers!" I recited. "Jeez, and you guys call _me_ dense!"

Misty's face said that she had struck gold, like finding the ultimate dirt on someone. "So… Paul," she said with a devilish grin.

Paul flicked his eyes to her, but that was all the acknowledgment he gave her.

"Hey, wait a minute," Drew said, a terrible smile spreading across his lips as he flicked his bangs out of his face. "That means that Paul is…"

"Small!" Dawn cried, thrilled to have figured it out on her own.

May, Tracey, Brock, Gary, and I burst into gales of laughter. "That _sucks_, man!" Brock laughed, trying to be sympathetic.

Paul puffed out an angry puff of air. "Leave it to you guys to take it in the sickest way possible," he murmured.

This caused us to laugh even more. "I wasn't going that way, but now that you've brought it up…!" I couldn't finish due to my laughing.

Mom smacked me on the back of the head, and I stopped laughing immediately. "Ash! Behave yourself!" she cried.

Pikachu, of course, leapt onto my Mom's shoulder and imitated her stern face. This caused me to laugh even more, and piss her off equally as much.

Dawn patted his arm comfortingly, and from the look on his face it took all of Paul's effort not to flinch away. "Don't worry, Paul. I think you're just the right size," she said sympathetically.

Now this— these wonderful words of consolation—_this,_ caused the rest of us to howl with laughter, and Paul to blush the soft pink that was as deep a red as he could go. Even Mom had to snicker a little bit.

Dawn looked around with wide eyes. "What?" she asked, confused.

"Dawn," Misty giggled, "you are _so_ innocent."

Our laughter was interrupted by the gruff clearing of a throat, and we all straightened up. Whoever this person was, they sounded important. We all glued our eyes to the screen to see a very guilty looking Gary standing off to the side, with an extremely stern faced Professor Rowan eyeing us. His arms were folded across his chest in a gesture of disappointment.

I adjusted my shirt to look a little more presentable. "Hi, Professor Rowan," I greeted.

Rowan did not look pleased. "Hi, Ash," he said tersely. He glared down at Gary. "Did they read the book?" he asked.

"Um… yes, yes sir," Gary stammered. A deep red blush was creeping up his neck in blotches, similar to Misty when she was pissed or forced to do public speaking.

The ancient professor arched an eyebrow. "And?" he pressed.

Gary swallowed and looked to us for help. "You guys will go, right?"

I stared at the eerie prophecy, and felt the grin of adventure creeping up my lips. "I don't know about these guys, but I'll do it."

Misty whacked me with her mallet. "You think we're going to let you get killed all by yourself? If there's mortal peril up ahead, you can bet we're all in this together."

"Yeah," May and Dawn agreed. "You're stuck with us."

Drew flipped his bangs. "Mortal peril would certainly be a change from this boring Coordinator crap. Count me in."

"I wanna go, I wanna go!" Max cried, his eyes shining.

"You guys _will_ need a cook…" Brock pointed out, trailing off hopefully.

Paul looked bored. "Fine, I'll go."

May glared at him. "No one invited you," she snapped.

"The prophecy did," I told her, tapping the book.

"This is really, really confusing to listen to," Rowan stated, massaging his temples. "Listen, meet Professor Elm when you get to Johto. He'll be waiting for you guys tomorrow afternoon."

"We have to leave _now?_" Drew whined.

I had to smirk. These guys, despite how annoying they were, were my best friends, and they would stand by me no matter what.

At least I had Misty to keep me sane.

***AN: Chapter 2!!!! Yay!!! BTW, I looked up the meanings of all their names, so I did my homework. Also, Yacaeli's name comes from the Greek word for cat and the Latin word for sky. Cordelia is a pagan goddess or something, I can't remember. But I did do my homework! Anyways, reviews are much appreciated! **

**I'm only saying so because every story I read that says that at the bottom of every chapter has like, a million reviews. I'm right, admit it. Subtly, your mind thinks you should review. Ah, the beauty of subliminal messages. **

**Thanks for reading and I'll update soon! Over and out.*  
**


	3. I'm On a Boat

_"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain. I like watching the puddles gather rain. And all I can do is just pour some tea for two, and speak my point of view but it's not sane." -Blind Melon "No Rain"_

3 I'm On A Boat

Pikachu was the first one off the boat. He scampered down the plank connecting us to the dock and greeted the Corsola standing at the feet of a tall, skinny man. His glasses were too big for his face, giving the impression of a large fly, and the white lab coat he wore simply accentuated his nerd aura.

"Hi Ash!" Professor Elm greeted cheerfully. "Misty, Brock, and look at all the faces I've never seen before! Oh, wait, I've met you and you," he said, pointing to May and Drew. "Let's see…" He trailed off, deep in thought. "You have grass hair, grass grows in dirt, dirt starts with a 'D', 'D' is for Drew!" he exclaimed happily. "And you… you used to wear a red bandana, right? Yes. Red… red flowers bloom after April showers… you're April!" he cried.

May grimaced. "No," she said. She stomped on Drew's foot when he snorted with laughter.

"No?" Elm said, crestfallen. "I was sure it was a month."

"It's May," I told him.

"May! Oh, I was so close!" Elm exclaimed. "I knew that one was too short to work properly. Anyways, how've you all been?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead he smacked himself promptly on the forehead. "I completely forgot! I was supposed to put that egg in the incubator! Corsola, you were supposed to remind me!" he scolded the Pokemon.

"He talks more than you, Troublesome," Paul said to Dawn.

I could practically see the steam shooting out beneath her navy hair, but she didn't retort. It was amazing how nice she was to Paul, and he still had to piss her off.

Drew pushed May playfully. "He didn't remember your name!" he teased.

"Shut up, grass head," she countered. "Remember, you grow in dirt."

"Oh ouch," Drew mocked, fanning himself. "I really felt the burn on that one."

May went at him with her fist but Misty held her back. "Now May, do you really want to disfigure that beautiful, smirking face of his?" she soothed.

"YES!" May screamed.

Misty winked at me. "Okay," and she let her go.

"That ought to shut him up for a while," I congratulated. Drew and May were a cloud of dust and flying fists behind us.

Max grinned. "Remember May," he called. "You only hurt the ones you love!"

The brawl stopped mid fight, both parties panting. However, their glares were no longer on each other, but on Max. Suddenly, Max turned tail and sprinted down the road with Drew and May in hot pursuit. "Get back here you little nerd!" Drew screamed.

"Don't call him that," May snapped at him. "But yeah, get your behind over here, Max!"

Brock was grinning after them. "You know that used to be you two, right?" he said to Misty and me.

"Do you _want_ to break the hundred meter sprint record?" Misty growled.

He chuckled. "You two will chase me a _lot_ farther than just a hundred meters," he teased.

Misty and I exchanged a knowing look. "On three?" she murmured.

"One… two… three," I replied.

We spun around and charged after the already sprinting Brock, and chased him all the way to Elm's lab.

***************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

Dawn examined the speckled egg curiously. "What kind of Pokemon is this?" she asked the bustling professor.

He shrugged in return. "Won't know till it hatches."

Paul nudged her when she reached out a hand to stroke the egg. "Don't touch, Troublesome," he said.

Dawn flamed up instantly. "I am _not_ troublesome!" she snapped.

Elm was tapping something on his keyboard. I watched with mild interest (his fingers could go _fast_). Suddenly something shone out of the projector, the beam of light going straight up and forming a hologram.

Misty was instantly entranced. "It's so pretty," she breathed.

I scowled. Misty wasn't the kind of girl to go for that kind of stuff.

May, finally recovered from her mad dash after her brother, reached out a timid hand.

"Don't touch," Elm told her, and she withdrew immediately.

Brock stared at it. "Is that Yacaeli?"

Elm shrugged again. "What we think, anyways." He pointed with his pen. "We took what we had from the legends and then some actual human sightings, and put them together to get this."

"Wait, people have actually seen this thing?" I asked, taken aback. A small ounce of disappointment settled in my chest. I wanted to be the first to see this legendary creature. However, I wasn't so selfish that I was going to let it get me down. That would be just plain jerky.

"Uh huh," Elm said, though he seemed distant. He gestured with one of the many pens from his protected pocket. "Note the markings that go up her legs. Her body structure resembles an Espeon, but those wings are quite frankly a genetic impossibility. And for the marks I mentioned earlier, we are at a complete loss. I believe it was Birch who suggested that she painted them on herself."

"It looks like a Lugia," Drew began, "had sex with a Persian, and the result got stuck with a tattoo artist that had way too much flourish."

May gaped at him. "Does anything intelligent _ever_ come out of your mouth?" she asked.

I looked at Brock. "Well, you're the breeder among us. Tell us how such an abomination is possible."

Misty punched me playfully. "I didn't know you knew such a big word!" she congratulated sarcastically. I ignored the jibe; despite how much I liked fighting with her, I'd been getting better and better at not fighting, and I hoped she would see it as a sign of maturity.

Brock watched the hologram with his narrow eyes, pondering. After a few moments of us watching him expectantly, he sighed. "It's like Drew said: a Lugia had sex with a—."

"Okay, thanks!" May cried, clamping her hands over Max's ears.

"So what's the point of showing us this?" Paul asked, his voice dripping with boredom.

Elm raised his eyebrows. "To show you what you're looking for, and to assess what moves and abilities Yacaeli may have." Under his breath I heard him mutter, "If such a beast exists."

I wasn't the only one who heard. Misty narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, skeptical. "You think this is a waste of time, don't you?" she asked acidly.

The professor had turned back to his keyboard tapping and hadn't heard her. "Hm?"

Misty pursed her lips. "You don't think we should go find this thing, huh?"

Elm suddenly looked very, very nervous. He pulled a kerchief out of one of his pockets and dabbed at his bald forehead. "I simply think that it is a dangerous thing for a group of teens to be doing on their own. Especially in the Anumic Islands."

Dawn's face turned frightened. "What's wrong with the Anumic Islands?" she asked in a quivering voice.

"N-nothing," Elm replied hastily. "It's just… a lot of undocumented stuff over there. Stuff that relies entirely on the supernatural. They've never even heard of science."

May was interested. "Like?" she prompted.

The young professor sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "Like they believe the seasons change when the flowers are depressed, and they sacrifice stuff to the 'Great Creator' and primitive blah blah blah," he said in a very, very unenthusiastic tone.

I arched an eyebrow. There were still people like that in this world? I had a few other questions to ask, but they were forgotten the instant my stomach growled. Everyone turned to me with antagonized expressions, and I grinned with embarrassment. "Guess I'm hungry," I admitted shyly.

As expected, Misty rolled her eyes and Pikachu sweat dropped comically.

Drew ignored my stomach's needs and clapped his hands enthusiastically. "So when do we leave?" he questioned.

Elm looked uncomfortable, but he handed me an envelope. "Your boat leaves tomorrow at noon," he informed us. "You all know where the Pokemon Center is." With that, he practically ushered us out the door.

"One more thing," he said hastily, grabbing me by the shoulder. His eyes were pained. "If you should reconsider, and decide not to go on this inane voyage, all you have to do is miss the boat."

I tore away from him with disgust. "I'm no coward," I snarled.

"No, but you're an idiot," Elm replied angrily. "Just like Cináed." And he slammed the door in my face.

******************************************************************Paragraph Break******************************************************

Unbeknownst to our heroes, three fumbling foes had been watching them through the skylights in the roof of Elm's lab. One was a woman, with a long curve of magenta hair; the second was a man, skinny and scared, with a perfectly groomed head of soft blue hair; and the third was a cat Pokemon, his claws raised as if ready to attack. A golden coin glinted on his forehead.

"So that's the thing that's making all the Pokemon go crazy?" said the girl, whose name was Jessie.

The boy quaked with fear. "It looks like a giant cat," James whined.

Outraged, the cat raked his claws across James' face. "Grr, and what's wrong wit dat, huh?" growled Meowth in a distinct New York accent.

Jessie gazed down as the twerps left. The professor ran a hand through his nonexistent hair in exasperation. He fumbled over to a microphone that stuck out of the hologram machine. "Terminate 'Project Yacaeli'," he said into it.

"Project Yacaeli," Jessie repeated slyly. Suddenly she grabbed James by the wrist. "We have got to get on that boat with the twerps. This may be our chance to prove ourselves to the boss!"

*****************************************************************Paragraph BREAK!!****************************************************

The boat trip was short, and involved Misty, May, and Dawn lounging about the deck in shirts they had tied to expertly cover only their breasts and _extremely_ short shorts to expose their long, lanky legs. I ogled over Misty whenever I hoped she wasn't looking (it was difficult what with her wearing those sunglasses), while Drew would never admit he enjoyed watching May.

Paul was impossible. Despite the heat he stayed zipped up in his blue jacket and long pants, with his arms folded menacingly across his chest. He glared at any girl that came near him, and didn't even acknowledge the guys. Brock, of course, went and flirted with every single woman on the boat, and came back with his face so red it was like a hot dog. He had one small, oozing cut on his left cheek from a girl that'd been wearing a ring.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing one little yellow paw out to the sea. He was perched next to me on the railing, and my hand hovered near his tail in case he decided to go for a swim.

"What is it, buddy?" I inquired. My eyes followed his little yellow fingers.

A pod of Lapras made their way across the water, chirping to each other happily. I looked up and saw a flock of Wingulls riding on the breeze. But Pikachu was pointing towards the horizon, focused on nothing but the approaching shadow of land that was Oupavos, the biggest of the Anumic Islands.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I jumped. Misty had crept up beside me, and I hadn't noticed her. She leaned against the railing, her chest peeking down at such an enticing angle. I almost agreed with her. Almost. "Yep," I said sarcastically. "Kinda like the landfill at Oreburg."

Misty lowered her sunglasses to reveal deadly eyes. "You would dare insult the water? In front of _mio?_" she said in a low voice. "Oh, Ash, it is _on_."

I couldn't suppress a grin. "Just like old times, huh, Mist?" I snickered.

She smiled sadistically. "Yeah, and, just like old times, I'll win."

"Is that a challenge?" I played. "Something you want to put money on?"

Her grin only grew more genuinely evil. "No, I won't rob you. Your mom would kill me."

I arched an eyebrow. "Then how about a service?"

She gave me a sideways glare. "Since when did you become such a sly dog?"

I shrugged. "Words just come to me," I told her, smirking. "Casanova was loved for a reason, you know."

"Do you even know what he was famous for?" Misty replied, shocked.

"Yeah, he got all the girls, right?" I guessed.

Misty shook her head, spilling gorgeous red hair over her shoulders. "He was a womanizer, Ash." When I looked confused, she elaborated, "Brock on steroids."

"Oh," was all I could think to say.

"Still wanna be Casanova?" she giggled.

"No, no, I'm good." I gave her one last smile, and she slunk back to her seat.

We hadn't fought. I'd tried to start an all-out argument but she hadn't risen to the bait. She'd taken an insult and turned it back against me as playful banter, when I'd wanted an argument so very badly.

"Well Pikachu," I sighed, "you want to fight with me?"

The mouse folded his arms and said something along the lines of "That's what a girlfriend's for," and scampered away.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the remark, and glared at the water instead. The Anumic Islands drew ever closer. I could see some trees a few yards away from the shore, and what looked like a town off to the left. But the most impressive sight of the island was the majestic mountain that loomed behind everything else, a formidable foe. Its summit was obscured by clouds, casting the entire mountain in shadow. The mountain's imposing form was enough to get my heart pumping a little faster.

If Yacaeli was there, I assumed she would be at the top, closer to her precious moon.

There was an almighty crash behind me. I whipped around to see what was wrong, and a spark of terror shot through me. Followed by a tremendous Thunderbolt that left me on my back, smoking slightly.

***AN: GASP! What attacked Ash? What's going on? Just who IS Cináed? Good thing I read through this chapter again, because I'd completely forgotten about Team Rocket being in this story. Well, it's one AM, I'm kinda tired, kinda not. Think I'm more hungry than anything. I had my birthday party today and it was sooo much fun. Tomorrow (actually, it's more like today, huh?), I'm going to do ALL my homework, which includes precalc, physics, and engineering. Wee, fun, can't wait. **

**I really have nothing else to say, except that here's your subliminal message for the day: Ha_R_ry Pott_E_r sa_V_ed w_I_zard-kind, _E_nduring _W_ith his friends. With a please at the end. :D***


	4. When Pokemon Attack

_"I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted, surrender to nothing, or give up what I, started and stopped it, from end to beginning, a new day is coming, and I am finally free" - 30 Seconds to Mars "Attack"_

4 When Pokemon Attack

Pikachu's face was screwed up in a feral sneer, his cheeks sparking with fury as he glared at me. "PIKA!" he screamed.

I stared in confusion. Why had he attacked me?

Suddenly, the Lapras that had been swimming so calmly a moment before dove beneath the water with angry splashes. I watched their dark forms speed under the water towards the boat. The Wingulls above changed direction; now they were going straight down to us.

"Pikachu!" I cried, terrified. My Pokemon was powerful, and I knew it.

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty called, her brow furrowed with worry.

Pikachu turned on her, a low growl escaping his throat as sparks danced on his cheeks. Misty took a step back in fear.

Two people sprinted past me, yelping in terror. A Meowth raced after them on all fours, cussing them out furiously. I narrowed my eyes. Why was the Meowth cussing? Or speaking in human tongue, for that matter?

I was taken out of my momentary reverie when the Wingulls' mighty screeches pierced the air, and my friends and I were under attack. Their sharp little beaks pecked at my hair and face. I waved my arms, trying to scare them off, but they only attacked more fiercely. "Pikachu!" I called. "Thunderbolt them!"

Through the flurry of feathers, I saw the mouse sit back on its haunches and turn away in defiance. My jaw dropped in shock, but I had to close it again before I started eating feathers.

I heard the girls scream. My pokeballs quivered on my belt, their contents threatening to break free. The boat started rocking as the Lapras rocketed into the starboard side. Somewhere behind me, the captain was yelling for everyone to stay calm.

Splashes told me that people were jumping. I sprinted away from the onslaught of birds and dove under a deck chair. In the distance the Pokemon of the sea were leaping out of the water, firing attacks at the boat. A table went sliding across the deck as the boat tipped, and rammed into my deck chair. My legs were squished when the legs of the table hit, as was my chest when it tipped over onto the chair.

I coughed and winced out of pain. When I opened my eyes, there was a very angry yellow face staring at me between the plastic of the deck chair. I could hear the buzzing of electricity as Pikachu charged, preparing to shock me.

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped.

The Wingulls looked around in confusion before flying off. The boat stopped tipping as the Lapras swam away happily. Pikachu's cheeks ceased to spark, and his expression became confused. "Pika?" he asked.

I gaped at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I cried, shoving the chair and him off of me. He went flying with an upset "Cha!" and leapt away, running straight to Misty.

"My hair!" Dawn moaned, pulling at the disastrous blue locks. "Look at my hair!"

"I'd rather not," Drew replied, earning himself a slap.

Max was stumbling around blindly. "May?" he asked pitifully. "Have you seen my glasses?"

"Right here," May said. She placed them lovingly on his face and smoothed his rumpled hair. "It looks like they got cracked."

The young boy sniffed softly, his eyes filling with tears. "I can't see, May!" he wailed.

"Join the club," muttered Brock. Misty walloped him with her mallet.

"Maybe if you opened your eyes a bit more, there wouldn't _be_ a club," May snapped.

"What on earth happened?" Misty asked. She looked down fearfully at the sobbing Pikachu at her feet.

I picked myself up off the deck. "I don't know," I murmured. Hesitantly I reached out for Pikachu, but he jumped away in fright. "Aw, c'mon, I'm not the one trying to hurt you!"

"Yeah, you attacked me, remember?" Misty told him.

The little yellow mouse looked up at her sadly, and he mumbled an apology. "I don't think he knew what he was doing," I said in awe.

"Well of course he didn't!" cried a very indignant voice.

We all looked up to see a young woman on the deck above us, her hands on her curvy hips and a very angry expression on her heart-shaped face. She wore a black shirt that exposed her midriff, and incredibly short shorts. A bracelet took up a huge portion of her tan wrist. Brock was instantly smitten. "Wah, what's your name, pretty lady?" he babbled. His eyes were starry and only for the woman above us.

She gave a generous flip of her long white blond hair with a perfectly manicured hand. The girl leapt over the railing like a gymnast and fell to the ground, landing in a graceful crouch.

Drew gaped. "Ninja," he said softly. I had to agree.

"It's Yata," she said superiorly. "And you guys don't look like you have a clue as to what happened just a moment ago."

Misty folded her arms. She looked positively furious. "Well, if you're so smart then please, enlighten us."

Yata looked ominously at Oupavos, her eyes judging. "It was Yacaeli," she stated.

Brock took her slender hand the way a man would take their lover's before he was about to propose. "Absolutely!" he agreed, and her serious expression became one of disgust. "Listen, gorgeous, are you free for dinner tonight? Because I think that someone as glorious as you would be humble enough to grace me with their presence for an evening. Whaddaya say?"

Misty took Brock by the ear as if this were nothing out of the ordinary. "Ignore him," she told Yata. "He doesn't get out much, as you can see," much to Brock's ignored protest.

"So why did Pikachu and all the other Pokemon go crazy?" I asked. Pikachu drooped at my words.

Yata went back to her over-serious staring at Oupavos. "Yacaeli is angry," she claimed. "Her emotions affect the Pokemon."

"She's angry?" I repeated. "Why?"

The look Yata gave me did Misty's you-are-_so_-dense look utter justice. I half-expected her to whip out a mallet and start pounding on me. "How should I know, bonehead?" she answered.

I hunched over, dejected.

Misty jumped to my defense. "He is _not_ a bonehead," she retorted, causing Yata to jump. "Why don't you leave him alone?"

Yata smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize the retard had a girlfriend," she said with a glint in her golden eyes.

To my surprise, Misty blushed feverishly. "I—he, I mean, we're not—ACK! He's not a retard and I'm not his girlfriend!" she stuttered. She whirled around with her arms crossed stubbornly across her chest, muttering something about hating the world and how Yata deserved a whack with the mallet.

"So, Yata," May began, trying to erase the awkwardness. I was still blushing and Misty was still muttering. "That's an interesting name. What does it mean?"

"Cat," she said. "I was named for Yacaeli."

Drew snorted, and May shot him a glare. "All of a sudden your interested in name meanings, huh? 'Flowers'," he mocked.

May stuck her nose in the air. "FYI 'May' actually comes from the name Mary, and means bitter heart."

"Don't I know it," Drew sniggered.

The two continued to bicker, and I did my best to ignore them. Max was still sobbing softly, staring blindly at the broken glasses in his hands. "Hey," I said quietly, crouching down to his height. "It'll be alright."

"No it won't," he replied pitifully. "I can't see _anything!_"

"What do you mean, you can't see anything?" I asked gently. I picked his glasses up and held them to my eyes, but doing so gave me a headache. "Oh wow, ouch. You're as blind as a Zubat!" I exclaimed, and he laughed through his tears.

"I know!" he said, grinning. "How will I ever pull Brock away from a pretty girl?"

"Don't worry, Misty will help you with that," I chuckled. With a sad smile I examined the glasses. They were damaged beyond repair. "But… I'm willing to bet there's some sort of shop on Oupavos where we can get you some new goggles."

He let out a real laugh at that. "You really think so?" he sniffled.

I gave him a comforting rub on the shoulder. "Of course," I told him. "We'll do it first thing."

"Thanks Ash!" Max cried happily. The only evidence of the sad boy he was a moment ago were the tear stains on his shirt, and those were drying quickly. He scampered away with Pikachu as his seeing-eye Pokemon, who kept him responsibly away from the edge.

Paul was scowling at me. "Why did you do that?" he asked in a low voice.

"Hm? Do what?" I questioned, confused.

"Help the kid," growled Paul. "You didn't have to even acknowledge him."

I met his glare with a steely gaze. "Yes I did," I snapped. "He was _crying_, Paul. Usually, if someone's crying, you should try and comfort them. It shows you're not a heartless wretch."

Paul's face went completely venomous, or what I like to call the HATE look (Hideous Asshole That is Egregious). I know its not a very good acronym, but it was that or LOATHING (I actually have two for this one: Lay Off And Take a Hike, Idiotic Neanderthal-ish Goon, or Loser Opposite Anything Time-worthy, Hopeless Idiot that will Never Get anywhere.) HATE was easier to remember.

"I hope that even you are humble enough to help a crying kid," I finished with pride. Paul needed a good telling-off. All I needed was a good shouting match with Misty and my day would be complete.

***AN: Yes, yes, it's a terrible chapter, I know. Almost no questions were answered. I'm going to keep Cinaed's identity a secret until later on. If you really want to know who Cinaed is, look up the meaning of that name. Paul's a total heartless wretch, but we love him anyways. BTW credit for the LOATHING and HATE acrostics goes to BubblyEmo909. Her story has a similar version of that. I made mine as different as I could, and I feel terrible about stealing the idea, but it was too good to pass up. If you're reading this, BubblyEmo909, I hope you're okay with it!! **

**I'm getting almost 300 hits and I KNOW people are reading, but I guess they're just too lazy to review. A special thank-you to StrawberryIceRose, Gweniveve Skyes, and pokemaster101 for telling me your thoughts on my young story. **

**If I get at least 1 more review, I'll update sooner. I hope this tactic works, cuz it seems to for everyone else. Thank you everyone for reading and remember, speak freely and tell me how you really feel. It's not illegal yet.***


	5. Oupavos, the Sky City

_"On and island in the sun, we'll be playing and having fun, and it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain. We'll run away together, we'll spend some time forever, we'll never feel bad anymore," - Weezer "Island in the Sun"_

5 Oupavos, the Sky City

Oupavos was a magnificent place. The little town of Ciel seemed to smile as we drew into port. It was cut out of the woods, beginning where the sand of the shore ended. A Pokemon Center stood amidst a movie theater and a tiny little shop that said it sold everything. Across the street from it was a much, much larger store that claimed the same thing.

A Hawaiian style coffeehouse was nestled between a souvenir shop and a happy little restaurant called The Floating Buizel, whose promotion art depicted the otter Pokemon resting atop an inflatable donut in the water.

The most impressive thing about the town was the large, imposing stadium behind the rest of the shops. It was set back, halfway in the woods, and was kept in peak condition. Yata said something about that being where they held local battles and contests.

However, the stadium was overshadowed by the intimidating Mt. Fellorit. (Apparently, the Anumic people had a god who always mumbled and spoke in a gruff, muffled voice due to his incredibly thick beard. One day, he was walking with his buddy and tripped over the mountain. When asked what happened, his reply was a muffled, "I, er, fellorit." Thus, we have Mt. Fellorit.) The mountain was bare of any vegetation as far as I could see, and looked as unforgiving as a serial killer. It went up, up, up; so high that I was looking straight up, and I still couldn't see the summit.

The Pokemon in the Anumics were the same we would see everywhere else, with the exception of the legendary Yacaeli. Since no one was entirely sure of her existence, it was safe to assume that we would encounter nothing out of the ordinary.

"So what are you guys here for?" Yata asked lazily as she showed us around town. Much to Max's joy, the smaller of the two shops that sold everything had glasses that fit his prescription perfectly, and there was no trace of the upset boy anymore.

"Professor Oak sent us," I told her. "He wants us to go find Yacaeli."

Yata spun around with such a furious hiss that I expected a forked tongue to flick out of her lips. "Yacaeli will not be found!" she said dangerously. "You should leave now, before she grows any angrier."

"Hey, hey, chill out," Drew said. "We don't even know if the thing is real yet."

"She's real," Yata said shortly.

Misty gave her a disbelieving smile. "No she's not," she replied, as if this were all a joke.

Yata's golden eyes told her to go to hell. "Yes, she's real. I've seen her many times." She suddenly changed the subject. "There's Professor Teak," she observed. "If Professor Oak sent you, then you might want to talk to her." She spun around and faced us, halting in her step. "I will meet you guys at The Floating Buizel for dinner around six. Bye." And she was gone.

May stared after her. "Is she curt or what?"

Dawn watched her go as well, her mouth bunched up on one side. "She got really defensive when we mentioned Yacaeli."

"Good thing we didn't tell her we were here to kill the thing," I said, my arm behind my head in embarrassment.

"Hi!" Brock cried, rushing over to Professor Teak. The woman turned around, her short brown hair brushing across her face like a curtain. "My name's Brock, and you're Professor Teak! Gosh, you're beautiful, would you care to join us for dinner?" he pleaded. The rest of us practically fell over in disbelief.

Teak grinned sheepishly, and you could practically see the sweat drop. "I'm sorry, but I'll be working late tonight," she said in a voice as soft as cotton.

Brock looked absolutely heartbroken.

Max stood on his toes and pinched Brock's ear between his fingers. He proceeded to drag the protesting Brock away from the nervous Teak. I stepped forward. "Hi!" I greeted cheerily. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu," I told her, giving the usual introduction. "Professor Rowan sent us…"

"Oh! That's right." Teak smiled an angel's smile. "Come on, I'll take you to my lab."

We followed the kindhearted professor through the gentle streets of Ciel, people waving at us as we walked. They all seemed extremely friendly and glad to see us.

"I'm guessing you guys met Yata, yes?" Teak asked, striking up conversation.

"Yeah," I replied. "What's her problem?"

Teak shrugged. "I think she hallucinates," she admitted sadly. "If Yacaeli is real, she would never show herself to something she considers as low as humans."

"So you don't think she's real?" Misty pried.

Again, the professor shrugged. "I don't bother her, she doesn't bother me. There's no scientific proof of her existence, but there are historical documents. Whether or not to trust those is entirely up to you." She approached a quaint house sandwiched between another house of similar style and a place that claimed to be Madame Eulixia's Fortune Telling. "I do all my work from home," Teak admitted with a shy grin. She jammed the key in the lock and we entered the home.

It was much cheerier than the other labs I'd been in. For one thing, the windows were decorated with colorful curtains, and photos of family members adorned the walls. An old but comfortable-looking couch rested in front of a very large TV. Between those was a coffee table that also served as the dining table, the remnants from that morning's breakfast still waiting to be picked up. Fuzzy carpeting was spread through most of the home, indicating that Teak went around barefoot most of the time. Her computer resided on a desk that was cluttered with papers and pens and a coffee mug that read "Tomorrow—one of the greatest labor-saving devices of today."

I snickered at that. I glanced over at Teak to see that she was in her tiny kitchen, pulling out another mug. This one said, "Instant human. Just add coffee." "I'm sorry," she told us. "I'm tired, and I need my coffee." She looked around the kitchen. "Where did I put it?"

May grabbed a kettle filled with the devilish black liquid and handed it to the professor. She poured some in her mug and popped it in the old microwave. Drew was busy looking around. "Nice place," he commented.

"I'm sorry I didn't have time to clean," Teak replied in a soft voice. Suddenly, the microwave beeped and she pulled her coffee out. After taking a long drink, she said, "The newest thing I have is the TV." Her voice was suddenly much stronger, and she didn't look so gentle. "Did anyone want any coffee?"

"Um, no," we all said in one way or another, except for Dawn. A wild grin was spreading on her lips. With a jolt I imagined Dawn on caffeine, and it was _not_ pretty.

"Paul wants some," she said with her tongue between her teeth.

This caught me totally off guard. Apparently, Paul too, because he was surprised enough to unfold his arms and make a single noise of protest before remembering he was Paul, and had to act as if nothing affected him. "Sure," he said with disinterest.

"I call picking the mug!" Misty cried, and she raced over to the cabinet that Teak had gotten hers from.

I jumped over to join her, glad that I wasn't the only person who had noticed Teak's hilarious mugs. We opened the cupboard to see it practically overflowing with mugs. I glanced over at her, grinning like an idiot. This was going to be so much fun.

We discarded the "Freudian Sips", "Computer Survival Guide: Ctrl Alt Delete", a mug from the Far Side with a frog who had its tongue stuck to the bottom of the plane **(kudos to whoever gets that one)**, one in the shape of Darth Vader, two with cows on them, one with a car that said, "I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe", and one that simply said "You are dumb." We finally settled on one that blared "Some people are only alive because it's illegal to shoot them". Sniggering to ourselves, we handed the mug to Teak for her to fill with coffee.

"Cream and sugar?" she asked the silent Paul.

He gave the slightest shake of his head. Teak shrugged and put it in the microwave black. As soon as it was done, she handed it to Paul and whisked us away to the lab part of her home.

"I study the effects Pokemon have on each other," she told us. She sounded more awake and forceful with each sip. I was willing to bet she was a force to be reckoned with when she was fully awake. "Specifically different types. Certain moves do certain things to certain Pokemon, that kind of stuff. It's not very exciting, but ever since Yacaeli started acting up, my work's gotten much more important. I've been trying to discern what move she could be using to control Pokemon world wide, and if there's any variation on the behavior of the types."

"Any luck there?" Drew asked, though he was focused on watching Paul take his first sip of the coffee.

"Yeah, actually. I found that the water types are more violent than all the others," she said.

Misty was suddenly interested. "Is that because Yacaeli is made from water?"

"Supposedly, yes," Teak replied. She took a long draw of her coffee and Paul, seeing this, did the same. Clearly he did not like the taste. I was really excited to see what caffeine did to him. "I haven't had a chance to study Pokemon that have dream attacks and psychic abilities; although I think the results are the same."

Paul's usually glaring eyes were starting to get a bit wider. He looked at the coffee in disgust, but when he saw May eyeing him critically, he took another long drink.

"I specialize in water Pokemon," Misty was telling Teak. The rest of us looked away from Paul to listen, or at least pretend that we were. "Should I take any precautions?"

Teak nodded gravely. "Water types in general are more likely to break out of their pokeballs, while only the extremely strong ones of other types will do so."

I recalled the feeling of my Pokemon fighting to break free on the boat. It was a terrifying thought. However, at that instant Paul took another sip, and my attention was captivated by the sight of his pupils dilating.

"How are you feeling?" Dawn whispered evilly.

"I'm going to get you, Troublesome," he hissed back.

Dawn just leaned back with a cruel smile on her face and waited for the show to start. May reached out, and the two exchanged a high-five. Drew met my eyes and smirked in Paul's direction. I nodded in agreement.

Brock was too entranced by Teak's beauty to notice anything else that was going on, while Misty and Max were busy listening. Good thing, too, because I had a feeling that whatever she was talking about was important.

Drew came to stand beside me. "Twenty bucks that Paul hits his caffeine high while Teak is talking, and severely offends her," he bet.

I contemplated all the possibilities. A glance at the clock told me it was past five. Probably not a good time of the day to drink coffee. "I was thinking more like during dinner, but sure, you're on." We discreetly shook hands and tried to look interested in Teak's speech.

"The Pokemon around here vary quite a lot, but mostly we have psychic and dark," Teak was saying. "Yeah, an island full of psychic Pokemon and I'm yet to study them." She shook her head. "Anyways, we have all sorts. The ones you want to watch out for are the Houndooms and the Mightyenas, because they're already vicious, and with Yacaeli, they're just plain deadly…" Again, I stopped listening to watch Paul.

His foot was tapping at a very fast tempo, and his fingers were drumming across his thigh at an equally speedy rate. His right eye began to twitch. It seemed as if his throat was containing a series of caffeine-powered outbursts. Dawn could not have looked more satisfied if her Piplup won the Grand Festival.

"Also, we have a number of Fearows on Oupavos that have anger issues," she continued. "Obviously there's countless water Pokemon surrounding the island. I'm not sure what all of them are, but we've seen Horseas to Seels to Gyarados, and let me tell you, they're not friendly."

"Sounds like all the Pokemon here have a temper," Misty said dryly.

Teak shook her head. "Naw, I'm just warning you about these ones. If you want _nice_ Pokemon you should…"

Paul was just too interesting. He had started shaking his head every so often like a nervous tick. His mug was empty, a good thing, because he kept bouncing up and down so violently I'm sure that any contents left in it would be splashed all over Teak's carpeting.

May was watching him out of the corner of her eye, feigning interest in Teak's rambling. She let out a quiet snort when she caught sight of Paul's expression; he looked ready to explode.

"Alright, Ketchum," Drew murmured. "Get ready to pay up."

I matched his smug expression. "If I know Paul, he'll make sure no one sees him explode," I told him.

Suddenly, Paul set the mug down as gently as someone who had just had a cup of straight caffeine hit his bloodstream could (i.e. not very gently). "Excuse me but I just remembered I left something important on the boat I must go get it BYE!" and he bolted out the door and was gone.

"The boat's already left, you won't—." Teak broke off. "Where'd he go?"

Dawn stifled her laughter with May. "Yeah, important like your self control, huh?" she chortled.

"Are you offended at his outburst, Professor Teak?" Drew asked hopefully.

Teak looked at him as if he were crazy. "No, of course not, I do that all the time."

Drew waited until she turned around before rolling his eyes and handing me a twenty. I smirked victoriously. "Care to bet on how long it will take him to run off all that energy?" I teased.

He shoved me away. "No thanks, jerk."

I met Misty's confused gaze and mouthed "Paul" and showed her the twenty. She nodded in understanding before turning back to Teak's riveting presentation.

Now that Paul was gone, there was nothing to distract me from Teak, and I was sincerely missing him. Not that it wasn't interesting, no! I just have a really short attention span and was eager to start up the mountain.

I hadn't really thought about what Oak said until then, since there was really nothing better to do. After all, he'd said I needed to _kill_ this thing. I started wondering if I could do something like that. I guess I ate Miltank steak and Spearow wings for dinner, but I wasn't the one ending those creatures' lives. I just reaped the rewards. Actually slashing something with a knife was a totally different matter.

Then again, I probably wouldn't have a knife. Chances were that I would have no weapon but my bare hands and my Pokemon, and Yacaeli could control those at will. I hadn't seen anywhere to buy a weapon on this little island, so I was stuck with what I had. Maybe I could borrow Misty's mallet.

Then there was the possibility that Yacaeli wasn't real, and it was actually a _person_ behind all of this. I guess if that were the case, and it was Team Rocket causing all this trouble, I could just blow up whatever they were using to control the Pokemon and then hopefully escape with my life. After that I could go back to Oak and tell him what was going on and the government would take care of it. I wouldn't have to kill anybody.

I could kill a Pokemon. Maybe I'd be depressed for the rest of my life, but hey, at least I'd have saved the world.

***AN: Oupavos is the Greek word for sky (or it's similar. I'm not sure). Ciel means something too, but I can't remember what. I absolutely love Professor Teak and her wonderful mugs. And the hateful Paul got a caffeine high! This was SUCH a fun chapter. **

**My review strategy didn't work... sad. Anyways, I'm going on a nerd trip (w00t!!!) to see nuclear reactors and all that awesome stuff and hang out with all my besties and of course the super-hot-soccer-playing-genius-son of my physics teacher, and other nerds worthy of such a description (hot nerds. What has this world come to?). So I won't be updating for a while. Sorry. Also, look up Cinaed. It's a clue!!! Clue clue clue!**

**Thanks for reading, enjoy this chapter, I'll update when I get back, and all that fun stuff. Bye!*  
**


	6. The Floating Buizel

_"I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams, where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one and I walk alone" - Green Day "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" _

6 The Floating Buizel

After another few minutes of chatter with Professor Teak, May noticed that it was almost six and we were supposed to meet Yata. Paul still hadn't returned. Brock, of course, recited a long, romantic farewell worthy of Shakespeare, only to be dragged away by a disgruntled Misty. Drew struck up an argument with May on our way out, Max catcalling after them. I told Teak that I liked her mugs, realized how absolutely perverted it sounded, and raced out of the house to join Misty.

"This is a very tight knit town, huh?" Misty remarked. "Everything's stuck between everything else, except for the stadium."

I nodded my agreement. "It kinda sticks out, doesn't it?"

She gave me a funny look, as if trying to decipher a double meaning behind my words. Quickly I went over them in my head, looking for one. After all, I wouldn't want some strange innuendo in my speech. She just might start calling me Casanova.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "It does."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing.

I followed his tiny yellow fingers to see Yata waiting impatiently outside the Floating Buizel, standing in a stance worthy of Paul. "Yata!" Brock cried, sprinting towards her. He knelt down in front of her with tears of joy streaming down his face. "Oh, how I've missed you since we were apart! You're still as beautiful as ever. Give me a command, for I am your slave! The stars do not shine without you, my love. Many nights I sat alone. The silence wasn't so bad, until I looked at my hands and felt sad, because the spaces between my fingers are right where yours—."

Max and Misty each took an ear and pulled him back. Dawn looked insulted, and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Brock. "To quote Owl City in such a terrible way… that hurt me, Brock. That really, really hurt."

A Glameow slunk around Yata's legs, purring when it saw Pikachu. "Is this yours?" I asked, curious.

Yata nodded, the sour look still on her face. "Nice of you guys to show up," she said brusquely. She turned, smacking me in the face with her hair, and marched into the restaurant.

I blew some hairs out of my mouth angrily. "What's her _problem?_" I asked again, pulling a particularly stubborn hair off my tongue with disgust. Her Glameow followed with a seductive mew towards Pikachu, beckoning him with her tail. I grabbed his before he could follow her. "Remember, buddy," I told him sternly. "She's a cat, you're a mouse. Most likely she's luring you into being her dinner."

Pikachu stuck his nose up in the air with an indignant "Pi!" and sauntered after the Glameow.

Dejectedly, I shook my head. "I try and help him and this is what I get," I said to Misty.

Drew came up and clapped me on the back. "Don't worry. He'll listen when you start taking your own advice." He glanced at Misty furtively and strolled in the restaurant, simpering.

"At least I have a decent haircut and don't have to flip my bangs every two seconds!" I called.

He whirled around, his bangs flying in what girls call the "emo hair flip", causing Misty to double over in a fit of laughter. "It beats looking like I just rolled out of bed!" he retorted.

Misty saved my dignity by coming up with a reply. "Are you kidding? This is sex hair! The ladies go crazy for it!"

Drew narrowed his eyes. "That's sad that your girlfriend had to jump to your defense," he growled.

"Why don't you get yours and we can have a double battle?" I responded. "May loves a good fight!"

I wish I'd had a camera, because his expression was _so_ the Kodak moment. Drew looked like a Christmas tree, his green hair in stark contrast with his beet red face. "What was that?" May called from where she had been chatting with Dawn. "I heard my name."

Drew spun around and stormed into the restaurant, steam blowing out his ears. I grinned at Misty before following him, Dawn, May, and Max trailing after us.

"I don't know _what_ became of Paul," Dawn said to May, feigning concern. "Whatever he left on the boat must have been important." Suddenly the two burst into giggles. "That's what he gets for calling me Troublesome!"

"That was truly genius," May congratulated. "I mean, really, really brilliant. Now we all know how the Immovable Paul acts on caffeine."

Misty hung back and joined their conversation, leaving me to walk alone. "I always wanted to see that," she said nostalgically. "Thank you, Dawn, for giving me that wonderful memory."

I didn't want to be by myself, so I caught up with the fuming Drew. "Wait till Paul crashes," I scoffed. "He'll go out like a light.

Drew still looked pissed, but he had to smile. "I'm going to laugh so hard if he falls asleep on his food."

"If he even shows up," I said, grinning. "I wonder if he just collapsed out there?"

He went to flick his bangs, then thought better of it. "Can you imagine Paul running on a caffeine high?" He put on Paul's scowl and sprinted in place. We took our seats at the table Yata had found us.

I started laughing. "I feel sorry for anyone who gets in his way."

Misty sat down on my other side, May on hers, with Dawn across from her and one chair away from Yata. Brock took the seat on Yata's other side, and Max sat down next to him, ready to yank his ear if necessary.

"Hello!" said a cheery young man. He had a huge grin plastered on his face and ears that gave him the impression of an Phanpy. "Welcome to the Floating Buizel! My name is Matt and I will be your waiter for tonight. Our special today is the filleted Magikarp with a raspberry salad, served with our custom seasoning and your choice of side," he rambled as he passed out menus. "I'll take the orders for your drinks now so you can have refreshments while you order."

We all ordered a soda of some sort, except for Brock and Yata. They were old enough to drink, so no one but Max thought anything of it.

"So the other day at the gym, I was blah blah blah," went Misty to the other two girls. Brock proceeded to try to woo Yata, and failed miserably. Max entertained himself by pulling his ear every time he opened his mouth.

That left Drew and me, all by ourselves, with our root beer and Sprite, to talk.

"So Ash," he began, sipping his Sprite, "have you thought about what you're going to do about Yacaeli?"

I had been watching Pikachu flirt with the Glameow and wasn't paying attention. "What?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do about our problem?"

"What problem?"

He sighed, annoyed. "We came here for a reason," he explained. "That reason is…?"

"To kill Yacaeli!" I exclaimed, feeling remotely like Dawn.

"Exactly!" Drew congratulate, patting me on the head. "You're so smart, Ashy!"

I made a face and went back to my root beer.

"So what are you going to do about it?" he pressed.

"God, I don't know!" I replied, frustrated. "Whack her with a rock? Get Pikachu to shock her? I don't think either of those will work."

Drew shrugged. "You could just get Misty pissed off and point her in Yacaeli's direction." He paused for a drink. "She'll destroy anything with that mallet of hers."

I smiled at the thought. "That'd be so funny," I replied. "Hey, did you see the professor's mugs?"

"Pardon?" Drew said, his expression aghast.

"No, no, not those!" I said hastily. "Her coffee cups, you perv!"

"Oh, yeah, I saw them," he laughed. "I thought you said—."

I cut him off. "I know, yeah. Jeez, I can't believe you." I picked up the menu, blushing from the crudity of his remark. "What are you getting?"

"Embarrassed, Ash?" Drew said playfully. "Wait till Misty hears you were looking at—."

Again, I interrupted him. "I think I want the smoked Feebass," I stated loudly. Everyone halted their conversation to stare at me, and I shrunk down in my seat, blushing even more.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived at that instant. "Okay, one down!" he said happily. He looked down at Drew, grinning expectantly. "And for you?"

Drew blanched and immediately began skimming the menu. "Uh… same as him," he mumbled, and handed him his menu.

"Okay, two Feebass," Matt confirmed. He glanced down at Misty. "And for you, gorgeous?"

I clutched the table so I wouldn't leap up and sock Matt a good one. How dare he refer to Misty in such a way?

To my complete surprise, Misty giggled and looked away in embarrassment. "Um, just a salad. I don't eat seafood."

"Why not?" Matt cried, flabbergasted.

"Because she's a water Pokemon Trainer, that's why!" I snapped, and instantly regretted it. I wished my seat would sink into the floor so I wouldn't be subject to the curious eyes of the other restaurant customers.

Misty raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. Matt shrugged and moved on. "Bandana?" he asked May.

May sneered and told him in a very clipped tone what she wanted, and he moved on with a shiver.

"How about you, Blue?" he said to Dawn.

Dawn, of course, took it as a compliment. "Oh, thanks!" she replied, grinning. "I want the…" I didn't hear the rest.

Matt went around the table, taking everyone's order. The only other one I noticed was Yata's. He didn't bother asking, just said, "The usual, right Yata?" and moved on.

Drew nudged me. "Hey, I need that twenty back," he muttered.

"What? No, you lost the bet, it's mine," I said.

"Yeah, but I need to pay for my food!" he retorted.

I stared at him. "What do you think I need the money for?" I replied.

"What? You're broke?" he cried. "You mean even if I'd won the bet, I wouldn't have gotten anything?"

I shook my head. "No, I would've written you an IOU and paid you when we got back to Pallet Town."

Drew sneered furiously. "Hey May!" he called down the table. May looked up from her conversation with Dawn, an annoyed expression on her face. He put on a cool expression and flipped his bangs. "Care to buy me dinner?"

May gaped at him. If he'd been within range I'm sure she would have slapped him silly. "No, you pompous grass head!"

"Please?" he begged. "I'll pay you back, I swear!"

Dawn giggled and whispered something in May's ear. Whatever she said caused the brunette to turn bright red and Misty to burst out laughing. "Fine!" May barked, but she didn't look happy about it. She turned and glared angrily at her drink, her face so red I could practically feel the heat radiating off her.

"Thanks!" Drew replied gratefully. "If I had a rose, I'd give it to you."

This caused her to blush even harder and focus even more intently on the bubbles in her soda. Misty and Dawn exchanged a knowing look and started laughing again.

I heard the door of the restaurant open with a _ding_, and I looked around to see who the newcomer was. A huge grin split my face. "Hey Drew," I said quietly. "Here comes Mr. Coffee now."

Drew swung his head around so fast I was in danger of being whipped by his bangs (he punched me when he saw me laughing). Paul came stumbling into the restaurant, looking like a train wreck. He tripped on his way over to the table, ran into a waitress and caused her to spill the tray she was carrying, and stole a glass of water from the nearest person. Basically he acted—and looked—like a drunken idiot. His hair was a mess, his jacket was half off, and he couldn't walk right. He was dowsed in sweat and looked ready to puke.

He staggered into the open chair between Dawn and Yata, and met Dawn's eyes with an exhausted scowl. "You," he gasped. He swallowed, trying to avoid vomiting. "Are a dead woman," he finished. "I am… never… doing that again."

"Ya look great, Paul," I complimented, trying not to burst into laughter.

Paul turned his deadly, tired eyes on me. "You're—," he paused to swallow again. It was really kinda disgusting. "You're next, Ketchum." He drained the glass of water, some of it running off the sides of his mouth.

"Not dignified at _all_," Drew scolded, _tsk_ing.

"I don't… care." Paul ran a hand across his sweaty face, brushing away the hair that was sticking to his forehead. "No wonder my parents never let me have that stuff."

Misty whistled. "Jeez, Paul. You're acting like someone going through withdrawal, not a caffeine crash."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard him talk at once," May said, awestruck. "Maybe we should spike his drinks from now on."

Paul's venomous black eyes burned holes in the girls. "You two," he said, pointing with weak fingers, "can be buried in the same hole Troublesome over there will be in. Keep each other company in the grave."

Dawn snickered. "I think we actually pissed him off." She and Misty high-fived.

Seeing that his harsh words and death threats weren't working, Paul fell silent.

"So how was Paul's super speedy adventure around Oupavos?" Drew asked, smirking.

The purple-haired boy ignored him. I shook my head. "Hungry?" I imagined he would be after such a run.

"No," he growled.

Misty leaned over and whispered in my ear. "If he pukes his guts up while we're eating, I'm going to kill Dawn."

"Oh ho, what's this?" Drew teased. "Whispering sweet nothings, are we?"

"You should take notes," I snapped. "May would sooner kill you than grant you such a pleasure as this."

Misty laughed a laugh that I loved so much at Drew's face, a perfect imitation of Paul's. May, of course, started counting the bubbles in her soda again, much to Dawn's amusement.

"Oh shut up," May said after a few minutes of Dawn's snickering. "We all know you're going doe-eyed for Captain Caffeine over there."

Dawn stopped her giggling immediately and studied her drink with an intensity to rival May's.

"Who's winning the bubble count?" Misty questioned.

"Can it, ginger," the two girls barked together.

Misty pursed her lips and scooted away from them, much to my pleasure (i.e. away from them meant closer to me :D). "So," she began, wary of May and Dawn's villainous glares, "are we leaving tomorrow morning to… you know."

It took me a few moments and a flip of Drew's hair to remind me exactly what she was talking about. "Oh… oh yeah, sure. Soon as we wake up."

She looked a little uncomfortable but didn't say anything. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but at that moment Matt returned with our food, and I was completely distracted. All thoughts of Misty's discomfort were forgotten.

***AN: TADA!!! Chapter 6! I'm back from the nerd trip and updating! I make Ash so good with comebacks and quick witted and... almost clever, huh? It's not good, but I'm going off the fact that people DO mature and I can't STAND making my main character an idiot. I think he deserves a little credit. Besides, even the dense Ash Ketchum has SOME dignity. Even if it's only a smidge. **

**Thank you for reading, I'm having so much fun writing this, and I love hearing what you think of my fun writing. _Au revior_ and till next time, my wonderful readers! (I have over 70 people reading all my chapters, which is THE GREATEST THING EVER!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!)*  
**


	7. Slumber Party

_"So if you wanna go, then you know oh, we're gonna fight till we do it right, so let's whoa oh, tonight" - Ke$ha "Party At a Rich Dude's House" _

7 Slumber Party

The Pokemon Center wasn't too exciting. As expected, a smiling Nurse Joy greeted us, and offered to take care of our Pokemon for the night to make sure they were at their strongest for the big journey. There was only one room, so us guys were forced to sleep on the couches in the lobby.

The girls retreated to their room in a babble of gossip, leaving the five of us to fight over who got the biggest, comfiest couch. Brock used the "I'm the oldest" argument, and Max countered with the "I'm the _youngest_" response. Then there was the whole "I won't fit on any other couches" routine from Brock, which caused us all to concede to him. This also led to the unspoken decision of lifting Max off of wherever we wanted to sleep and laying him on the armchair that the rest of us wouldn't fit in.

Drew and I fought over the biggest pillow, until Paul stepped in with his murderous glare and took it for himself. He then retreated to the softest looking couch and growled at anyone that came near him.

Finally, after a bit more squabbling, I threatened to tell May some secrets Drew was keeping from her, forcing him to give me the next biggest couch. The pansy. That left our green-haired wimp with his choice of the floor or sharing with Brock.

Yeah, I would've picked the floor, too.

"Hey guys," Max called from his little chair island.

Paul grunted, but I graced him with an answer. "Yeah?" I replied tiredly.

"We have a night without girls!" he cried, as if this were obvious. "Guys only!"

"Alright, Drew, you heard him," Brock called. "Guys only."

A lumpy pillow soared across the room and hit the back of Brock's head. "Shut up, womanizer," he snapped.

"You know, he's right," I said. "We don't have any girls with us. We don't have to censor anything."

"When did Ash learn such big words?" Brock scoffed. Pikachu shocked him for me before curling up and going back to sleep.

Paul groaned. "I don't want to talk," he grumbled. "I want to _sleep_."

Drew snickered lightly. "He's just worried we'll tell a certain blunette something he doesn't want her to hear," he said, looking at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes. We both looked to Paul for the reaction.

Another pillow flew, this one hitting Drew square in the face. "Troublesome is nothing more than that; troublesome," Paul responded. He rolled over so his back was to us and tugged his blankets around him. "Now go to sleep."

"Who are you, my mom?" I chuckled. "What about you, Drew? Got anything you want to tell us about Bandana?"

I saw the attack coming, and ducked as a pillow whistled past my head. Max laughed. "Admit it, Drew, you're crazy about my sister."

Poor kid got a pillow right in the face; thank God he'd taken off his glasses. It quieted him immediately. "Jeez, man, will you run out of pillows already?" Brock observed, earning himself one in the face.

"When did your aim get so good?" I asked.

To demonstrate, he chucked one at me. I didn't have time to duck, and wound up with a mouthful of pillow. I think that's the most one-sided pillow fight I've ever been in. Drew smirked victoriously and fluffed another pillow as if readying his ammo. "The only pro of being the youngest of nine," he explained.

Brock snapped his fingers to get attention. "Oldest of eleven," he said triumphantly. "I win."

"Only child!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms in the air.

"Youngest of two," Max proclaimed with pride.

We all looked to Paul expectantly. He sighed. "Middle child of five," he said with disinterest.

Drew sat up and put on an expression he thought resembled a psychiatrist. "Now," he said nasally, adjusting his imaginary glasses, "what can we conclude about this, gentlemen?"

"Paul was neglected as a child, causing him to be cold and heartless now, even to the girl he loves," I replied, laughing.

He threw a pillow back towards me, but it landed on Pikachu. This caused the little mouse to leap up from his slumber, his cheeks sparking angrily. "You're one to talk," Paul sneered. "You and Ginger should stop flirting and date already. It's sickening to watch."

My cheeks reddened instantly and I threw myself down on the couch. "Good night," I called, covering my face with the blanket.

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In the lone room down the hall from where the boys were sleeping, the girls were having a conversation all their own.

"So," Dawn began, "when is Ash going to ask you out?" She was delicately painting her nails with a lovely blue that matched her hair and Piplup-adorned pajamas.

Misty blushed profoundly and clutched her pillow. The make-up and nail polish didn't appeal to her in the least. She much preferred to see her nails natural and bare. "What makes you think he would do something like that?" she asked, focusing on the fibers in the carpet.

May snatched a ponytail from Dawn and pulled her hair back. "Cuz he's madly in love with you, that's why," she said. Her pajamas were not nearly as cute as Dawn's, with a red T-shirt worn inside out so the tag wouldn't bother her and pants with flames at the hem.

"He is not!" Misty replied hotly. Her pajama shirt stated that she had won the hundred meter butterfly swim when she was eight, the stamp on it peeling and half gone. She wore a pair of sweats that doubled as warm up clothes after getting out of the pool.

"And how would you know?" replied the blunette. She blew on her nails, attempting to dry them. "I mean, you're crazy about him too, though I can't understand why."

The redhead glared at her. "At least he has personality, unlike _your_ secret crush." She shot a similar look at May. "And he has guts, unlike _yours_."

"Drew is the bravest, sweetest, and most adorable person I have ever met," May snapped. "He's smart, and he gives me roses. I'd like to see Ash do that, let alone a math problem."

Dawn joined in the jibe. "Exactly! And he's not nearly as gorgeous as Paul."

May stared at her. "Actually, I have to chose Ash in that field. With that scowl he's always got, I just can't see him as cute."

"Ash is going to be Pokemon Master," Misty stated defiantly, as if that right there ended all arguments.

"And Drew is going to be the greatest Coordinator there ever was," May replied. "Paul… well, we don't know about him."

Dawn narrowed her eyes at her drying nails. "If I didn't have polish all over my hands, I would wallop you with a pillow," she growled. "I don't care what Paul is, I'll love him anyways," she finished dreamily.

Misty faked a gag, causing May to laugh. "I can't believe you," Misty snickered. "Dawn, you're so funny, and you don't even know it."

An odd glazed look came over Dawn, something like pain, but in an instant it was gone. "Aw, thanks, Misty!" she exclaimed, smiling. Suddenly, she yawned widely. "Mmkay, guys, I'm going to sleep. Good night." She climbed into one of the beds and seemed to fall asleep instantly.

"Guess I will too," May said. Following Dawn's example, she crawled into the second bed and curled up in the blankets.

Misty took it upon herself to turn off the light, and made her way to her own bed. As she lay there, clutching her pillow, she wished that what her friend's said was true: that Ash loved her in the way she loved him. Was it truly too much to ask? She felt her eyelids growing heavy, and she succumbed to sleep.

***AN: Terribly sorry. It's short, I know, but it was a very difficult chapter to write. The next few chappies are short, actually, so I'm sorry. Since this was so short I updated fast for you guys. :) **

**Thank you for reading and your reviews are much appreciated. Remember, as long as the U.S. Constitution is in one piece, you can say whatever you want. If you're American, that is. If you're not, I'm sure there's SOMETHING that allows you to freely criticize/compliment a fanfiction story. **

**Thanks for reading and I'm glad you've come this far! Knowing I have faithful readers brightens my day, every day. ;)***


	8. The Journey Begins

_"When I was, a young boy, my father, took me into the city, to see a marching band. He said 'Son when, you grow up, would you be, the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?'" - My Chemical Romance "Welcome to the Black Parade"_

8 The Journey Begins

I woke up feeling heavy, as if I had been pummeled with lumpy pillows. I instantly suspected that Drew had done something like that to me during the night, but I figured I would've woken up if he had.

Pikachu looked rather disgruntled at being woken up so early, but as soon as Nurse Joy announced there was breakfast waiting for us, he perked up and raced into the kitchen.

This was by far the strangest Pokemon Center I'd ever stayed in. Nurse Joy lived there, so she made all her food and ate in the kitchen usually meant to make remedies for the Pokemon. She also invited us to eat with her, which no other Nurse Joy had ever done before. Usually they kicked us out of the Center with a sweet smile and a brochure of the best places to dine.

"Nurse Joy!" I heard Brock call from the kitchen. "You make the best food! I am simply in love with your cooking!"

Nurse Joy blushed a pink to rival her hair. "Oh, why, thank you Brock," she murmured. Obviously this was a Joy not accustomed to being flirted with.

"Hey look!" Drew said, and I saw him standing in the kitchen doorway. "He's alive." With a flip of his hair, he checked his watch. "For a minute there, I was sure you were going to out-sleep Paul."

I glanced over at Paul's slumbering form, slowing rising and falling with every breath he took. Pikachu met my gaze mischievously, but I shook my head. I think we humiliated Paul enough for at least a week.

"So where are the girls?" I asked, yawning.

Drew looked uncomfortable. "Well, when I went into their room, they kinda… screamed and chased me out with curling irons and… I _think_ it was a can of hairspray, but I can't be sure."

I sauntered into the kitchen, where Brock was stuffing his face with Nurse Joy's cooking. There were waffles and pancakes and all sorts of breakfast foods, and at the sight of them my empty stomach whined. Pikachu leapt off and went straight for the sausage, where the ketchup waited for him.

Ravenous, I piled eggs and waffled on my plate. Syrup and powdered sugar on the waffles; who cares if it gets on the eggs? Orange juice, fresh from the Center's backyard, perfectly chilled. Fresh fruit, too, was waiting eagerly to be eaten.

Finally, after Brock, Drew, and I had cleared away most of the food, the girls showed up. They were already primed and proper for the day, their hair in boisterous curls and their outfits shining like the morning outside.

Dawn was the only one who maintained such a ladylike manner amongst the girls. Misty and May were just so hungry and the food was just so good that they couldn't control themselves.

I love watching Misty eat. It's so funny. She tries to eat slowly but she just can't. May doesn't even try; not entertaining in the least.

Paul came last. How he can sleep for so long is a mystery to me. And what bed head that guy gets! His purple hair was sticking up in the back, and a few strands at the front made their break for freedom by standing straight up in the air defiantly. The rest of his head was rumpled, and his eyes were droopy.

"No chairs?" he mumbled, rubbing one exhausted eye.

We looked around and saw that we had currently occupied every seat. Our heads shook in synchronization.

Paul blew air out his mouth in exasperation and lumbered over to the counter. He grabbed a plate, filled it with pancakes, drowned them in syrup, and left the kitchen. We saw him slouch on over to the couch had slept on and proceed to eat his breakfast. Dawn looked after him sadly, but she soon averted her eyes and went back to eating.

"So," Misty began, swallowing hard, "are we leaving soon?"

"Yep!" I said. "Soon as we're done eating."

Nurse Joy shuffled in, grinning nervously. Brock's eyes bulged. "Um, Ash," she said in her soft voice, "Professor Teak is here to see you."

I swallowed my last bite and followed her into the lobby, where Professor Teak stood lazily. Her mug today read, "Is it true cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?" with a laughing clown face on it. "Hey Ash," she greeted, taking a drink.

"Hi," I replied. "I like the mug."

"What?"

"_Mug!_" I repeated, reddening. "With an 'm'!"

"Oh," she said uncertainly. "Okay." Warily, she took another sip. "Um, well, I came to give you a map of trails up the mountain." She handed me a map, her eyes cautious.

Misty was suddenly by my side. Gingerly, she teased the map out of my hands and looked it over. "Hey," she said, "these don't go all the way up." She showed the trails to me to prove her point.

"Nope!" Teak responded.

My—I mean, _the_—beautiful redhead looked confused. (Did I really just say beautiful? I… I meant hideous, ugly, repulsive pumpkin head!) "How come?" she asked, delicate lips parting in a perfect pout.

"No one's ever been to the top of the mountain," Teak told us. She took a long drink of her coffee and swallowed satisfactorily. "At least, they've never come back if they have. So our trails only go halfway up." She gave us a grin and tapped the map importantly. "Don't lose it, mmkay? See ya later." And Teak was gone.

Misty continued to stare at the map. "Ash," she began slowly, "this is craz—."

"Ready to go?" Drew exclaimed, skipping into the room.

"Did you just skip?" Paul asked, glaring.

Drew stopped immediately. "No, I was… hopping."

"Hopping's just as bad," Brock told him.

"He skipped," May called.

Drew flushed an angry red. "I did _not!_"

"Drew, you're sixteen," Misty chastised. "Don't you know better than to skip?"

"I can skip, right Misty?" Max asked, grinning.

Misty smiled warmly. "Of course you can, Max. Drew, however, can't."

Glaring, Drew stepped right up to her. He towered over the water Trainer, yet with the expression she gave him, Misty may as well have been ten feet tall. Her cerulean eyes burned with a confidence one could only obtain from years of conniving for acknowledgment and respect. She had earned every bit of it, so Drew had every reason to cower under her intense gaze.

"You," Misty said dangerously, "skipped."

Drew seemed to shrink. He ran a nervous hand through his perfect green locks, and swallowed with terror. Finally, he gave the tiniest nod of compliance.

Misty's lips twitched up in a victorious smile. She smirked proudly and sallied over to Dawn and May, accepting a high-five from each of them. I hope Giovanni meets Misty, like, when she's seriously PMSing. Heads would roll, I'm sure.

We guys took turns in the bathroom, changing and making ourselves presentable. The person who took longest in there was Drew, who had to make sure his bangs curled in _exactly_ the right loop and other foppish stuff like that.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, deemed myself fit to be seen, and and slapped my favorite hat on my head. I'm not sure if ladies thought I looked good, but that didn't really matter. Misty, on the other hand, well, _her_ opinion mattered. I my arm a sniff to see if I smelled good, but all I inhaled was the scent of the Center. With one last glance, I headed out the door to meet my friends and collect my Pokemon. We were ready to start our journey up the mountain.

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"Everyone got everything?" May called, doing one last check.

We all nodded. Nurse Joy looked a little scared, but she pointed to the mountain with a steady hand. "Head straight for the base of Fellorit. There are signs everywhere. All you need to do pick a trail and go."

I smiled farewell and started in the direction she pointed. "Isn't this exciting?" Dawn babbled, a bounce in her step. "We're going on an adventure!"

The townsfolk waved at us as we made our way through the streets. They all looked extremely jovial, save for Yata. Her golden eyes were narrowed in a look of pure hatred as she watched me, and me specifically. She had eyes for no one else, though I sincerely wished she would turn those smoldering pits of rage on someone else. I could literally feel them burning me.

Soon we had left the little town, and the change from civilization to dense forest was so abrupt that it actually startled me. Pikachu chatted happily with the voices of the woods, calling out to other Pokemon with glee. Misty was busy figuring out the map, while May and Drew had started to bicker. Brock, Dawn, and Max had struck up a conversation about food, I think, leaving me with Paul the Somber.

Saying you were with Paul should really mean you were alone, because he's so quiet and determined to be ignored that you may as well be. I watched Pikachu scamper ahead of us, sharing a conversation with a Treeko on the trees above him.

We were nearing the edge of the woods after about twenty minutes of travel. Drew and May's argument had escalated to a shouting match, causing the creatures in the trees to quiver and cry out irritably. I was just starting to talk to Misty when a voice caused all of us to turn.

"Fotia!" someone called.

We stopped to see an elderly woman stumbling after us. She was panting heavily, and looked ready to collapse. Brock, ever the gentleman, was instantly at her side. "Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked with concern, touching her arm.

"Bah!" the woman cried, wrenching away from his help. "Madame Eulixia needs help from no one!"

I stared at her. Madame Eulixia... that was the fortune teller that lived next to Teak!

She was the typical fortune teller, draped in shawls and smelling strongly of incense. Her hands were very old and withered, and her back was bent, as if she had spent many years hunched over books or a crystal ball. Her eyes were shockingly blue, and obscured by strange, milky clouds. I wondered how she could possibly see with fog in her eyes until I realized she was blind.

Misty gaped at the woman. "Can we help you?" she asked timidly.

The woman turned her unseeing eyes upon me, and to be honest, it scared the hell out of me. "You," she said, pointing a gnarled finger at me. "Cináed."

I blinked, shocked. "No, I'm Ash," I told her. How on earth did she know his name?

She shook her head. "Cináed. Fotia. _Fire_."

"Wh-what?" I questioned. The lady had me puzzled. "How do you know Cináed?"

"Many years ago," she began, "Madame Eulixia had a dream. An angel came to Madame Eulixia and told her to come to Oupavos. Angel said, 'Wait for fire to return'. I have waited, and fire has come back." She reached into one of her shawls and pulled out a medallion. "Here," she said, placing it blindly in my hands. "This tell you secrets, like before."

Utterly confused, I stared at the medallion. There were intrinsic markings all over it, but they were complete gibberish to me. "I don't understand," I said as clearly as I could.

She didn't seem to hear me. "Go the way you took before. It has not changed. This time, Cináed, you not fail." A strange smile played on her thin lips. She shook back the sleeve of her outfit and removed a dull gold bracelet from her fragile wrist. "This time, Madame Eulixia give you this."

"Look, lady, I—," I began, but she cut me off by slashing out and grabbing my wrist. She snapped the bracelet on.

Madame Eulixia yanked me forward, so that we were nose to nose. Being so close to her unseeing eyes unnerved me greatly. It was all I could do to keep from yanking away in terror. "The fire shall burn the sky to the ground, Cináed," she whispered. "Do not doubt it." Abruptly, she released her hold on my wrist. Without another word, she turned back into the woods and disappeared into the trees.

I could feel the eyes of my friends on my back, boring into me like drills. My eyes were glued to the bracelet she had snapped to my wrist. It wasn't cold, like I expected, but rather warm and comfortable. It felt as if I had worn it for years.

"That was weird," Dawn remarked. The others nodded in agreement.

"Ash?" Misty asked, though her voice sounded very far away. I was entranced by the band on my wrist, unable to take my eyes off it. "Ash!" she cried, and I came back to reality with a snap. "What the hell was that?" she exclaimed, outraged.

It was the strangest thing. For a moment, while I was staring at the band, I thought there had been flames dancing in the gold. "Nothing," I murmured. "C'mon, let's get going.

How had Madame Eulixia known my father's name?

***AN: Look at me: pathetic. I can't even go three days before I succumb to the urge to update. I need to work on my self-restraint. **

**Are things starting to come together? Are we getting to where the pieces are starting to fit? I hope so!**

**If you like my story and think OTHER people would like it too, REVIEW! How many of you see a story that has 5 reviews next to one that has 200 and pick the one that has FIVE? Yeah, not too many of you. Even if the story with 200 reviews is total crap, you're still more likely to click on it. So help me out and review! It's what you want, it's what I want, Spock wants you to, so it's only logical that you do. That's all I have to say. Till next time! |\\/| Live long and prosper.* **


	9. Golden Flames

_"Eyes, burning away through me, eyes..., destroying so sweetly, now, there is a fire in me, a fire that burns... This fire is out of control, I'm gonna burn this city, burn this city!" - Franz Ferdinand "This Fire"_

9 Golden Flames

"Crazy old lady," Drew growled. He adjusted his new backpack with his thumbs in the straps. "Look what she did to Ash!"

I was completely captivated by the bracelet. The more I looked at it, the more I saw how beautiful it was. It wasn't a dull gold, not in the least! It glowed radiantly in the soft sunlight, and every time I moved my wrist, flames flashed across its surface. I began to see just how beautiful a color red was. Red wasn't just a symbol for strength and blood; it represented love and beauty and… and…

"Temptation," I whispered.

"What?" May said. She was closest to me, and was the only one who heard.

Her voice woke me up. I shook myself, wondering when I had become a poet. This was ridiculous. I was wearing _jewelry_, for Arceus's sake. Immediately I started fiddling with the clasp, trying to remove the abomination.

It wouldn't budge.

I began to panic. "Uh, guys?" I called timidly. "The thing won't come off."

"Sucks for you," Brock said tersely. He wasn't too happy about leaving the beautiful Professor Teak or Yata, let alone Nurse Joy.

"Dawn, you have experience with this sort of thing, right?" I asked. My fright was showing in my shaking voice.

Dawn shrugged. "Sure, lemme see." She reached out with delicate fingers and tried to undo the clasp. Her face took on a puzzled expression when it wouldn't pop off. "Uh," she grunted. Suddenly, her hand slipped. "Ack!" she cried. "I broke a nail!"

Misty arched an eyebrow at her. "Really, Dawn?" she asked. "Really?"

Dawn shot the bracelet and angry glare and stalked away. "It's not coming off. Sorry," she snarled.

"Great, let's keep going," barked Drew. His backpack slipped again. "God, I hate this thing!"

"Eenie meenie miney moe," Misty was saying. "Which way should we go?"

"What are you mumbling about?" snapped Paul.

Misty whirled on him. "I'm _trying_ to decide which trail we should take. Would you like to contribute your input?"

"No," he replied shortly.

"May, I see why you hate him," Misty called to May.

May, who had been examining her brother's glasses, handed the back to Max. "I can't see anything wrong with them, Max."

"No," Max protested. "The image is weird. It's distorting my vision!"

"Let's go that way," I said, pointing to the left.

Everyone stopped and stared. "Why that way?" Misty interrogated, her eyes narrowed.

The bracelet glinted on my wrist. It had moved my arm, not me. "I don't know; it just seems like the right way to go." I didn't want to tell them that I was listening to the bracelet. They were already giving me strange looks.

"Brilliant, let's go," Drew huffed. His backpack slipped a little farther with each step he took, leading us the way I had pointed.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, scurrying between his legs. This threw Drew off balance, and he dropped his pack.

"God dammit!" he yelled. His voice echoed around the mountain.

"Drew, if it's too heavy for you, I'll carry it," May offered mockingly. She reached down to hook her arm in the strap of his bag.

He snatched it up before her hand was even near it. "I can carry my own things, May," he grumbled.

Our trudge began to take us uphill, the trail sloping slightly. It veered right, in the direction of the mountain.

"That's weird," said Max. He was looking straight up, the dorkiest expression in the world pasted on his face.

"What's weird?" Dawn questioned curiously.

He pointed skyward. "There's no snow up there."

"We're in the tropics," Brock told him, rolling his eyes (I think he rolled his eyes. I can never be sure). "There IS no snow in the tropics."

"He's right," Misty defended him. "There should be snow up there somewhere."

I looked up. "I can't even see the top. There's too many clouds in the way."

Misty showed me the map. "Look, even in the map, the peak is shrouded by clouds." She sounded vaguely annoyed. "It can't be cloudy _all_ the time."

With a grin, I replied, "Looks like it can."

She smacked me with the map.

****************************************************************Paragraph Break BLEH!***************************************************

"No, James, I saw the twerps go _this_ way!" Jessie protested.

"And _I_ saw them go _that_ way!" James argued.

Meowth folded his arms indignantly. "Why can't cha guys just make up your minds, huh?"

"Meowth!" they cried, whirling on him. The cat Pokemon jumped in fright.

"Which of us is right?" Jessie pried.

"Yes, yes, which way did they go?" added James.

The cat sighed in exasperation. "Dey's going ta find Yacaeli, right?"

The two humans looked utterly confused. "What's a Yacaeli?" James asked in a wondering tone.

"Da ting we saw in Elm's lab, you numbskulls!" Meowth cried, slashing James across the face again. "She's da most beautiful creature dat ever lived!"

"What are you talking about?" Jessie cried. "I think _we_ need to slash _you_ in the face for a change."

His claws glinted menacingly. "You wanna try?" he growled. When the two shook their heads, he launched into a soliloquy. "Yacaeli is da most beautiful cat in da whole woild. Her eyes are like da moon, and da stars dance in her fur. But she is crying, crying all da time." Suddenly, Meowth looked threatening. "And dose twoips are going ta kill her, you hear me? We gotta get to her before dey do!"

Their balloon rose up out of the trees, slowly floating to the mountain. Meowth had a determined look on his face, one of pure rage directed at the meddlesome children down somewhere below.

In another few minutes it would be on his two accomplices, as soon as Yacaeli's temper boiled over.

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"Oh, I see," May commented. "We're circling up the mountain."

Drew smirked. "No duh, bright eyes."

Misty handed her the map, and May whacked Drew across the top of the head with it. "Thank you," May said.

"Anytime," replied Misty. For the heck of it, she smacked me on the head too. I flinched, wary of another attack.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried. He jumped onto the rocks along side us with an excited "Cha!"

Suddenly, his face darkened. The joy in his black eyes was replaced by villainous fury. My Pokemon stared straight at me, sparking angrily.

"Pikachu?" I said timidly. The bracelet on my wrist started to feel hot.

Max jumped. "Did you see that?" he hissed to May. His finger was again pointing up.

May was too focused on Pikachu to pay him any attention. Drew noticed this and, without taking his eyes off the mouse, knelt down to Max's level. "What was it?" he asked quietly, as if anything too sudden would send Pikachu on a rampage.

"It was Yacaeli," Max whispered. "I'm sure of it."

Misty clutched her red bag tighter. "I can feel them shaking," she said with horror. Her bag contained all her pokeballs. "They're trying to get out."

"PikaCHU!" cried Pikachu. Lightning exploded from his red cheeks, creating a blinding flash and causing the air to come alive with electricity.

"What are you doing?" I yelled at him. My oldest friend ignored me. Instead, he charged.

I wasn't ready for his Quick Attack, and it hit me full on. I was knocked backwards, into the dirt, with a jolt. Pain shot up my spine, and I groaned pitifully. Black spots danced across my vision.

When they cleared, Pikachu was on my chest, panting madly. Behind him, I saw my friends quivering, electricity alive on their skin and causing them to twitch. Had I really passed out? I couldn't recall.

"Pi," growled Pikachu. I suddenly realized there were other Pokemon surrounding us, the typical creatures of the mountain. A Geodude smashed its fists in the ground. Two Machops stood menacingly by my friends. One vicious looking Cranidos and his buddy Armaldo were ready for a battle.

I blinked, hoping that any minute Pikachu would shock me and wake me up from this nightmare. I tried to move.

The first part of my wish came true, but it didn't wake me up.

The stupid bracelet on my wrist made its presence known by growing steadily hotter. It felt like flames had wrapped themselves around my forearm.

Like an old memory, it clicked.

I thrust my arm up, arcing gracefully over me. Soft orange flames followed, creating a ring of fire above me.

Pikachu leapt back in fright, the fire completely unexpected. Then his lips curled back in a furious snarl, a deep growl emanating from his throat. I had never heard such a vicious sound come out of him. His eyes glowed with a deep hatred, and I had a terrible feeling that he was planning my death.

Instinctively I leapt to my feet and waved my arm. The flames tailed after it, dissipating after a few moments. Never had these Pokemon seen a human with fire. It scared them, and they began to creep away, snapping defensively.

Realizing I had an advantage, I spun around, encircling myself in fire. Now the flames had gone from gentle orange to intense yellow, climbing hotter and hotter. The bracelet, however, didn't grow any warmer, but it emitted a soft golden glow.

The Geodude roared, as if preparing to attack. It flew towards me like the hundred pound rock it was.

I was acting on a whim. I thrust my hand out as if hoping to stop the creature in its flight. Abruptly, flames erupted out of my palm, hitting the Pokemon square in the face. It dropped to the ground with a dull thud, its body black and charred, and it moved no more.

The others sprinted away in panic. I gaped at the Geodude, petrified. Was it dead? Did I kill it?

I glanced at Pikachu. He seemed somewhat dazed. Suddenly he shook his head, and his livid face was replaced by the smile I knew so well. "Pika cha!" he greeted.

I was starting to shake when I saw the Geodude continue to remain still. Someone pulled me up; I hadn't noticed I had sunk to my knees. Misty was there, her eyes filled with concern, and an occasional twitch from being electrocuted. "Are you—," _twitch!_ "— okay?"

My eyes were like glass orbs. I looked up at her beautiful face without seeing it. "I killed it," I whispered hoarsely.

Brock was kneeling next to the Geodude, a worried look on his face. "Hey," he murmured to it, nudging its lifeless form. "Wake up, buddy."

"Give up," Paul said coldly. "It's dead."

"Ash, don't worry," Dawn cooed.

"Yeah, you were defending yourself!" May put in.

For once, Drew agreed with her. "It was you or the Geodude," he said. "It's fine."

I had killed something. I, Ash Ketchum, had killed a Pokemon. And it hadn't even been that hard. All I had to do was spew some magic fire from my hands and boom; I'm a murderer.

The bracelet had done this. Not me. It was an evil thing. Satanic, perhaps. Mom had raised me a Christian, and I had paid enough attention in Church to know when something was bad. I had to get it off before it invaded my soul and dragged me to hell or something like that.

"Ash! Calm down!" Misty was shouting. I was so unfocused that I barely heard her. She snapped her fingers in my face. "Ash, come on! It's okay! Do you hear me? O-kay."

Pikachu settled in front of me, staring up with liquid black eyes that were torturously innocent. "Pika?" he said quizzically.

I felt a tug on my arms. Misty and Drew were pulling me, guiding me forward. "C'mon," they said. "Let's go."

Everything felt strangely distant. I heard their voices as if through a wall, listening on the other side of a door. The clearest words I heard were from Max, and he spoke them in a terrified whisper that I don't think he intended anyone to hear.

"_I saw Yacaeli._"

***AN: OHEMCHEESE Ash killed a Geodude! I never liked those Pokemon anyways. So we have a magic bracelet and secret medallion now. Wonder what the medallion does...? **

**I'll probably use Franz Ferdinand again because I love them so much right now. :D I updated so fast because I am in a KILLER good mood right now. (Just got my braces off after FIVE years of hell. I think I should brighten your days too!)  
**

**WARNING: The next chapter gets kinda... kinky. Inappropriate. Yeah, you know. It's not that bad, just a little WOO and a bit of HAH and a smidgen of BOw-cHIkA-wOw-WoW! If you're expecting something extreme, well, you'll be disappointed. It'll come, I promise, just... not now. And, unfortunately, it's not between Ash and Misty. That's not till chapter 13. **

**Thank you for reading and you are the best! Till I can no longer stand taunting you with an update!*  
**


	10. Truth or Dare

_"This innocence, it's brilliant, I hope that it will stay. This moment, is perfect, please don't go away. Cuz I need you now, and I'll hold on to it, don't you let it pass you by" - Avril Lavigne, "Innocence"_

10 Truth or Dare

That night, we set up our sleeping bags in a small bend off the trail. We hadn't made the best progress in the world. My guess was that we were only a couple hundred feet up. Still, the clouds enshrouded us so heavily that it was hard to remember how close we were to the ground.

Misty and May had decided to talk to the Pokemon, and explain to them what was going on. The expressions on the creatures were horror and utter denial, astounded that anything could make them turn against their Trainers. Evidently they didn't remember a thing about their rage once they were out of it.

The bracelet was _not_ coming off, which only convinced me more that it was handcrafted by the Devil. After all, how could something that attached itself to my wrist like a freaking parasite and gave me the ability to kill innocent Pokemon be good?

The term "innocent" probably didn't belong in that phrase up there. They _were_ trying to kill me.

"No," Dawn snapped, arguing with Brock. "I'm not going to do something like that, no matter how hard you beg. I'm not that kind of girl."

"It's not a game of Truth or Dare if you refuse to do the dare," Brock told her.

"C'mon, Dawn!" Max pressed. "You're always such a good girl. Let's see you be bad!"

I watched with mild interest while Dawn sighed in defeat. She stood up, dusted herself off, and marched over to where our lonesome Paul sat with a book in his hand. Lame-o. What kind of guy brought a book on an adventure?

Dawn sat down next to him, scowling. Paul didn't even look up. "What do you want, Troublesome?" he asked disinterestedly.

She exhaled furiously, a strand of her blue hair flying up comically. Her cheeks were slightly pink. I felt my jaw drop as Dawn looked distinctly the other way and placed her hand on Paul's leg.

_That_ got his attention. He let his book fall to his knees while he turned to stare at her, mystified and… some other emotion. I couldn't tell. "Can I _help_ you?" he said forcefully. His eyes strayed to her hand resting on his leg.

I glanced over at Max and Brock to see them snickering. They were mostly turned away, but kept stealing looks over their shoulders, checking Dawn's activity.

Dawn continued to look away, her cheeks getting closer to red. "Please close yours eyes," she pleaded.

"Huh?"

"Are they closed?"

Paul stared at the back of her head a moment longer. Finally he complied. "They're closed," he said.

Hastily Dawn twisted around and pulled up her shirt. My eyes popped and I instantly looked away. Brock and Max burst out into quiet laughter, trying to be discreet. "What's going on?" Paul inquired, hearing them, and he opened his eyes.

Dawn didn't yank her shirt down in time. Paul's eyes bulged and he went that pink that's as red as he can blush. "_What the hell do you think you're doing?_" he shrieked.

"S-sorry," she mumbled, redder than Misty's hair. With that, she scrambled back over to Brock and Max, smacking Brock on the back of the head. "For that," she said in a deadly voice, "you will dance naked in front of Misty, so she can destroy your manhood with that mallet of hers."

I looked at Paul. His jaw was on the floor, and he was still staring at Dawn. Drew stepped back into our little campsite with the meager pile of firewood he'd managed to find. "Dude, what happened to you?" he said to Paul.

Paul shook his head and said nothing. Thus, Drew looked to me for an explanation. I gestured to the group of three to my left and mouthed "Truth or Dare."

Drew's lips curled up in a crafty smile. He pulled out his pokeballs and returned all of his Pokemon. Misty and May yelped in protest, since they weren't done with their lecture. "What are you doing?" May cried.

She didn't expect him to yank her by the arm to where her brother, Dawn, and Brock sat. Misty followed with a puzzled expression on her face. "C'mon, Paul!" Drew called, beckoning.

Realization dawned on Paul's face. (ha. It's a joke, get it? "dawned," pfft. I crack myself up.) He grimaced. "I don't play Truth or Dare," he told us.

I found myself grinning at the thought of daring Paul into something terrible. "Aw, Paul, don't be a pathetic emo for once and join the fun."

"Truth or Dare?" May said, instantly suspicious. "No way, Drew. Not in a million years."

I pulled myself over, eager to be distracted from the dead Geodude fiasco. "Truth or dare, Paul!" I called.

With an exaggerated sigh, Paul slipped his book back in his bag and lumbered over. He plopped himself down as far from Dawn as possible and avoided her eyes. "Truth," he said.

"Ooh, I got one," Misty said excitedly. Her cerulean eyes sparkled mischievously. "Paul, did you enjoy seeing Dawn's boobs?"

I fought off a laugh at the reactions of Dawn and Paul. So Misty had seen that unfortunate occurrence. How absolutely perfect.

"I-I… um…" Paul stumbled. One answer meant he was a pervert, the other meant he had no feelings for Dawn at all (which we all know is a lie). So, if he played by the rules, he had to be a pervert, or else we would all call him on it. "It was… sudden," he said.

"Yes, but did you like it?" May pressed, exchanging a smirk with Misty.

"Neither," he said quickly. "I am completely indifferent to seeing Troublesome topless."

Dawn looked… relieved? Or disappointed? God, I can never read that girl. "Okay," I said, shrugging. Misty stared at me, questioning why I hadn't kept interrogating Paul. I'd figured we'd humiliated him enough. "Who's next?"

"Me," said May with badly hid excitement. "I want to go next, and I pick dare."

Paul narrowed his dark eyes at her, yet May held her own. A flash of doubt crossed her face, as if wondering if it had been such a good idea to be dared by Paul, of all people. She did state on a regular basis that hated him, after all. Now was the perfect chance for him to get revenge.

"Why don't you make out with Drew?" Paul suggested darkly.

Had Drew been drinking something, he would have done a spit take. "Excuse me?" he sputtered.

May was completely appalled. "There is no way in heaven or hell that I am putting my lips ANYWHERE on that grass head." When Paul didn't even flinch, May crumbled a little. "For how long?" she squeaked.

"Till he goes erotic," said Paul.

"Dear Mew," Brock muttered, looking away shamefully.

"There's a ten-year-old present!" May exclaimed.

"I'm twelve," corrected Max.

Drew folded his arms angrily. "What makes you think kissing May would make me erotic?"

"Oh shut up," I snapped. "Just thinking about May makes you hard, and don't deny it." I couldn't believe the words that had just come out of my mouth. I mean, I just figured out what the word erotic meant by connecting the dots.

Misty giggled. "Dawn, this is worse than yours!" she snickered to her.

Dawn grimaced and nodded. "I kinda feel bad for May."

"I am _not_ making out with Drew, and even if I did I would _not_ do it in front of my brother," said May firmly.

"Such a shame we don't have a closet," muttered Misty.

I caught her eye, confused. "What do we need a closet for?" I asked.

"Seven minutes in heaven," she explained.

"Fine," Paul conceded. "Only two minutes, then." He tapped the watch on his wrist. "Go."

"No!" May and Drew said together.

"GO!" yelled the rest of us.

"Fine!" May yelped. She took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. "Max, you have to look away. Swear you won't watch."

Max grinned. "Yup, okay." He turned around with the full intention of turning back once they got going.

The two rivals grimaced at each other, and then they went at it so fiercely that I was ashamed to be watching.

I really don't need to go into details. May knocked Drew down with her passion and intensity and it really wasn't pretty. I blushed and couldn't watch. They didn't stop after the two minutes, either, even after Paul alerted them the time was up. Drew had his tongue down May's throat for at least another thirty seconds until they realized the time was up.

Embarrassed, they pulled away from each other, wiping their mouths and blushing a soft pink. "Okay," May said huskily. "Next?"

Everyone was silent. Drew rolled his eyes. "Alright then, I'll pick." He met my eyes with a ferocity that made me think he was going to pounce on me like he did May. "Ash, truth or dare?"

I pondered this for a moment; how bad of a dare could they give me? And then I thought how bad a truth they could give me, and I was at an impasse. There were secrets I really didn't want shared, meanwhile there were things I really didn't want to do.

Although, if I got to do to Misty what Drew did to May, there was a plus to all of this.

I wound up biting my lip and picking truth. May patted the ground anxiously. "Okay," she said. "Um… who's this Cináed person everyone keeps mentioning? You seem to know who he or she is."

Ouch. Why that question? Of all my secrets, why that one? I squirmed uncomfortably and answered based on the fact that May didn't know me well enough to tell when I was lying.

"Cináed is… heh, it's a funny story, actually." I put my arm behind my head nervously. "See, Professor Oak, right? He had a… a friend somewhere in… Johto named Cináed. He looked exactly like me, so much that I… I thought he was my dad when I was a kid. I kept running to him going 'Daddy, Daddy!' and such. I guess he was well known here because everyone keeps mistaking me for him."

There was silence. I avoided Misty's eyes, knowing she saw right through my fib. Finally, Drew snorted. "Jeez, you were a stupid kid, too."

"Hey!" I said, insulted. Yet I was relieved; my lie had passed under the radar.

Everyone began chuckling, and our game continued a while longer. I dared Drew to put mud in his hair, something that totally killed him to do. Drew got Misty to admit she was extraordinarily jealous of her sisters. Max crumbled under Misty's glare and confessed to having made out with Crystal, Dora's younger sister, a total of three times (much to May's rage).

Max retaliated by getting Dawn to divulge her darkest secret, which was so terrible that I in no way can repeat it here. Dawn then made true on her promise to Brock and made him dance naked while yodeling at the top of his lungs. We didn't watch this, I swear! Though the yodeling was pretty funny to hear.

No one dared me to kiss Misty, or vice versa. Was I disappointed? Of course… NO! I was NOT disappointed. I don't like that hot redhead at ALL! I mean—, NO! I swear, I don't. Nope. Not even a smidge.

… I am so in denial.

The game went on until we started to fall asleep, and decided it was time for bed. We all snuggled into our sleeping bags, all nice and cozy, with Pikachu curled up beside me. Our formation was an odd circle, and within the minute everyone was asleep.

Or so I thought.

"Ash?" someone whispered.

I wriggled around in my sleeping bag to see Misty inching her way over. She looked completely ridiculous doing so, and I mentioned this to her.

The effect was immediate. Her face heated up like a thermometer. "Well, excuse me for wanting to talk with my best friend. I'll just worm back over to my spot and leave you in peace, shall I?"

"No, no, don't go," I said.

She glared at me, her pride clearly battling with her desire to talk to me. Finally, desire won out and she scooted next to me. Pikachu sighed softly in his sleep.

We remained silent for a few moments, unsure how to start the conversation. I eventually broke the ice by saying, "Hi."

Misty snorted with quiet laughter. "Hi yourself."

"How's life at the Gym?" I asked, smiling.

"It sucks," Misty replied, and she didn't elaborate any further.

I made a face and tapped the ground patiently. "Why?"

My oldest friend sighed so heavily that the hair lying in her face flew like a party favor. "I'll tell," she said slowly, "if you tell me why you lied to Dawn's question earlier."

I tensed. Of course she had seen me lying through my teeth. "If you knew I was lying, why didn't you call it?" I said darkly.

She shrugged. "I figured you had a good reason to lie."

I made a face but I had to agree. "Fair enough. You first. Why do you hate Gym life?"

Misty looked up at the clouds above us. No stars were visible. "It's boring," she confessed. "I do the same thing day after day, talk to the same people, beat some poor little kid so badly that he goes away in tears, and then get lectured by my sisters about how I'm not living up to my potential. Yet _they're_ the ones who won't let me leave. I called Drew to help me escape. Bet my sisters are still looking for me." She laughed a little at this. "Okay, I spilled. Your turn."

I grinned. "Alright. The truth scares me, and I hate talking about it."

Misty's smile vanished. "What?"

I simply smirked and shrugged. "It's a bad memory, and I don't like to relive it. Got it?"

She stared at me. Then a wicked smile graced her lips. "Could it be that a man named Cináed raped you?" she laughed.

I laughed along with her, just because it felt so good. "No, no, not that."

"Then what is it?" Clearly she was losing her patience. "C'mon Ash, I've known you forever. Tell me. I can keep a secret."

My lips creased into a line and I considered this. Misty _was_ my best friend, and best friends don't keep secrets from each other (though if I followed that rule, Misty would know I was desperately in love with her and we would _not_ be best friends anymore). "Okay," I surrendered. However, I wanted her to figure it out, so I didn't have to speak the terrible words myself. "How many Cináeds can you think of, Misty?"

She rolled her eyes back in concentration. "Um… none—no, wait, there was that one guy, Cináed… Cináed… oh, what was his name?"

"Everett?" I suggested helpfully.

"Yeah, him!" she said. "He was the Pokemon Master who disappeared all those years ago." She looked thoughtful. "I don't think they ever found him."

"Nope," I confirmed, watching the clouds swirl.

"Well what does that have to do with anything?" she questioned. Evidently I was starting to bother her.

"Well," I began, hesitating, "Ketchum isn't my father's name. It's my mother's."

Her expression told me she wasn't catching on. Misty made an "and?" motion with her hand.

"C'mon, Mist, you're smart," I coaxed. "Figure it out."

Misty's face became one of utter bemusement. Suddenly her eyes widened in understanding. "No way," she breathed, and I knew she had come to the right conclusion.

I grabbed her hand, looking into her blue eyes with a seriousness so intense she almost cowered. Almost.

"Do you know what 'Cináed' means?" I whispered.

She shook her head, although her eyes told me she had a pretty good guess.

"Fire."

***AN: DUN DUN DUHHHH!!! I am SO dramatic. How many of you actually looked up the meaning of his name BEFORE this chapter and knew it was coming? No one? Aw, oh well. Was it a fun chapter for all you Contestshippers? You probably wanted me to go into more detail, I know, but Ash is not a pervert and does not relish in watching his friends making out. The only one I will go into detail with is Ash and Misty, and it WILL happen, I promise. I try not to make romance the center of attention in my stories. Sorry. **

**Ironic chapter song, huh? I had to make it total opposite, just cuz.  
**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, all that good stuff! I'm going to steal from Justin Bieber right now: I less than 3 all of you! (the little arrow thingy wouldn't work)* **


	11. The Storm

_"And when it rains, you always find an escape, just running away, from all of the ones who love you, from everything. You made yourself a bed, at the bottom of the blackest hole, and you'll sleep 'til May, and you'll say that you don't wanna see the sun anymore" - Paramore "When It Rains"_

11 The Storm

I had a very strange dream that night. I sat on top of a mountain, staring down at the clouds swirling below. They emanated power so great that it made me quiver. This was a storm I wanted to see.

My hand glimmered from the bracelet that still rested on it. I found, glinting in the dirt, the medallion Madame Eulixia had given me. There were words engraved in the medal's gold. _The third time is the charm_, it said.

Then the words began to glow with a fierce orange fire and burn away, and I settled back with an evil smirk on my face to watch the storm unleash its fury on the wretched earth below.

When I woke, the bracelet still felt warm. I was looking directly into Misty's closed eyes. She sighed softly, and I wondered what _her_ dream was about. Guiltily, I hoped it was about me.

Brock was already up and about, cooking breakfast. Grinning, I sauntered over to where he knelt. I cleared my throat and sang, "Yodel-ay heeeeee hoo!"

He swatted me away. "That was not funny," he growled. "And if you want to eat you'd better shut up."

Well, of course I buttoned my lip immediately after a threat like that. Contentedly, I gazed around at our happy little campsite. May and Drew slept strangely close to each other, though I guess after a display like last night it was to be expected. Max was on his sister's other side, his glasses resting next to him. Paul, of course, slouched against a tree off by himself. Dawn's tent stuck out like a sore thumb, remote civilization against our primitive sleeping bags.

I noticed once again how close Misty was to my abandoned sleeping bag, and racked my brains to recall what we had talked about. Had I mentioned…?

I shook myself, unable to remember. That was strange, of course. I usually prided myself on having a decent memory, so the lack of recollection had me stumped. "Hey," I said to Brock, "whacha makin'?"

"Hm? Oh, um, rice balls, eggs, the usual."

I found myself nodding. "Cool. Pikachu," I called.

The little yellow mouse flicked an ear and was awake in an instant. He scampered over happily and leapt onto my shoulder. "Pi!" he exclaimed.

"Yup," I agreed. "Beautiful day, huh?"

Well, that was a lie if I ever said one. The clouds continued to be a swirling gray pool that refused to allow any sunlight—let a lone a piece of blue sky—through its veil. It smelled of rain, and the whole scene was a little depressing. Six teenagers asleep under a storming sky, so deep in their slumber that they may as well be dead. Wow, that was deep, huh?

At that instant, May stirred. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, stretched, and yawned like a Snorlax. With drooping eyes she surveyed her surroundings. Her gaze fell upon Drew, and pink flooded her cheeks. With every breath he took, his obnoxious bangs fluttered, forever in his face. She shot him a glare and stood. "Hey Ash," she greeted.

I smiled. "What's up?"

"Me!" Dawn cried, emerging from her tent with a dramatic flourish. It crumpled into a heap with her excited exit. "I'm up!"

My eyes met May's, and we started to laugh. Dawn was _so_ childish. Hard to believe it was the same girl I saw last night. "We're very proud of you," I encouraged, still chuckling. "Now scream a little louder."

Apparently the sarcasm in what I said didn't exactly register in Dawn's mind, because the rambunctious blunette threw her arms in the air and screamed, "I'M AWAAAAAAKE!!!"

This caused our remaining sleepers to jump into consciousness with yelps of fright. "Dawn!" Drew cried. "What the heck was that for?"

Dawn looked at him with her innocent blue eyes. "Sorry, Drew, I wasn't thinking."

"Damn right you weren't thinking," Misty grumbled. She groped around. "Where did I put my mallet?"

"Hey Paul," Brock called, grinning. He held up his kettle of espresso. "Got coffee if you want any."

Paul glared at him and didn't reply.

"Time to start cleaning up," May said responsibly. She rolled up her sleeping bag with two quick flips. "I'm ready."

Drew smirked at her and flipped his bangs. "Don't you look wonderful?" he mocked.

May went redder than a beet, and it wasn't just because he pissed her off. It was my guess that she was remembering her wonderful moment with him the night before. Her sapphire eyes sparkled in indignation. "You," she began, "ignorant, selfish, pompous, leaf-headed _fag_," she said with emphasis, "do not deserve to even stand in my presence."

Drew looked taken aback. "Is that any way to treat your future lover?" he teased.

Furious, she swung her bag at him. He ducked, and it sailed over his head while he laughed triumphantly. "You're terrible!" she screamed.

"You only hurt the ones you love," Max reminded her in a half-asleep tone. He jumped into full wakefulness when May turned her rage on him and swung her bag into his back. "OW!" he cried.

"Don't fight," Dawn pleaded.

"My money's on May," I said.

"What?" Drew exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief. May, ever resourceful, took advantage of his momentary distraction and whacked him on the back of the head. "HEY!" he said in pain.

"Ash, did you take my mallet?" Misty asked.

I looked away from the fight to see the water Trainer scrambling around her sleeping bag, frantically searching for her weapon. "No," I replied. "Is it in your bag?"

She snatched it up and searched. "Ash!" she cried, her blue eyes flaming.

"What?" I questioned, genuinely confused.

Misty took a deep breath and massaged her temples. "If you tell me where you put it, I promise not to hit you for taking it."

"I didn't take it, Mist," I promised.

She glared at me. "You are so immature, you know that?"

I gaped. "What did I do?" I cried.

"I mean, first of all you take my hammer, and second you won't give it back, even when I ask nicely," she continued.

"Oh, so saying you _won't_ hit me if I give it back is asking nicely?" I shot back. "Whatever happened to 'please'?"

"Why should _I_ say please when I'm not the one at fault?" retorted Misty. "You should be begging me to _please_ not beat you to a pulp!"

Whoa. That was a little harsh, huh? "Well, uh, you… just shut up," I finished lamely. My supply of witty comebacks had been exhausted.

Drew snorted. "Fae-yil," he enunciated.

May caught my eye and bashed him on the head with her bag for me.

"No!" Misty barked. "I will _not_ shut up!"

I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. However, I felt a twinge of amusement that caused my lips to twitch up. Even at the lamest, most pathetic comeback in the world, Misty still got riled up.

"ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME ASH KETCHUM?" Misty screamed. Her face was scarlet.

Terrified, I jumped back. "No! No, no, why would I laugh at you? You're pissed! The last thing I would do is laugh at you!"

"Pika, pikachu pi," Pikachu interrupted, which translated to, "Hey guys, knock it off." He looked up at us sadly.

I shot him a sour glare. "This is exactly what you wanted me to do just two days ago!" I cried.

The little yellow mouse shrunk away, sweat dropping. I sniffed. "That's what I thought," I snapped.

"Don't be mean to him!" commanded Misty. "He didn't do anything!"

"Oh, so _now_ you're bossing me around, too?" I cried, outraged.

Misty put her hands on her curvy hips. "Well maybe if you told me where you hid my damn mallet this never would have happened!"

I gave an angry sigh. "Would whoever took Misty's precious mallet please return it to her before I get pounded?" I pleaded with annoyance.

"No way," Brock laughed. "It's too much fun to watch you guys fight."

Misty rounded on him. "YOU'RE DEAD, BROCK!" she informed him. "GIVE ME MY HAMMER!"

Brock cowered and gingerly pulled the mallet out of his apron pocket. When it was back in Misty's capable hands, she cracked Brock on the head with it. "_Never_ do that again," she warned.

Our older friend nodded fervently and turned back to his cooking, casting wary glances behind him.

Dawn skipped over, grinning like an idiot. "Yay, everyone's happy!" she cried, clapping.

"You're a little _too_ happy," Drew remarked. He dodged May's bag, having been expecting it this time.

"Hey, be nice," I defended. "At least she has some personality!"

Drew, cool as ever, flipped his bangs. "If I'm as bland as you say, why do girls love me so?"

The look on May's face was absolute shock. I guess after doing what they did last night, I would expect a personality change, however slight. Her weapon of a bag slipped out of her hands and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

And Drew calls _me_ an idiot.

Abruptly the awkward silence was interrupted by a tremendous clap of thunder, causing all of us to jump. Brock began shoving food in all of our arms. "Quick, quick, eat before it starts raining!"

I didn't need telling twice. I stuffed my face with rice balls and eggs, not even noticing their taste (I'm sure it was delicious. Brock's food is ALWAYS good). Out of the corner of my eye, I saw May pick at her food disinterestedly, Paul retreat under his tree, and everyone else scramble for shelter while simultaneously trying to eat.

The rain fell down in big, splattering drops that made a huge _plop_ping sound when one landed on your head. I imagined the rain as missiles falling from the sky, whistling as they fell. To annoy Dawn, I made little explosion sounds when they shattered on the ground.

"What should we do now?" I heard Drew ask.

"Aw, my _hair_!" Dawn shrieked, devastated.

Misty was not sheltering with Dawn, Drew, and me. She had found her own little cove of trees, impossible to see in the sheets of rain. Brock had wound up with Paul, which, like I said earlier, is a nice way of saying you were alone.

"Hey!" Misty called over the thundering rain. "Where did May go?"

"I thought she was with you!" Max replied. He was still curled up in his sleeping bag, having inched his way into cover. His glasses rested on his nose, and he wiped the water off them before looking out onto the downpour.

"May!" Drew yelled with his hands around his mouth. "This isn't funny!"

Max blinked, confused. "What's that?" he asked.

"What?" I questioned. I didn't like the idea of Max seeing weird things. "What's what?"

He reached out a timid hand, straight forward. "_That_," he said, and his hand came into contact with something solid.

My eyes widened and I thrust my hand out in front of my. Pain shot through my hand as I hit whatever it was too quickly, jarring my fingers. It felt like the glass of a window, or a mime field from a Mr. Mime, possibly.

I looked around wildly for the mischievous Pokemon, but I couldn't see one. That left me with no explanation for the phenomenon of the glass barrier that rested in front of us.

"May?" I heard Misty continue to yell.

"MAY!" Brock shouted. "Where are you?"

I couldn't see May, or anyone who wasn't in my shelter of scarce trees, for that matter. The rain was too thick.

However, the barrier blocking us from the rest of the world unnerved me. "Pikachu," I said, glancing down at him. "Thunderbolt it!"

His red cheeks sparked with power, and with a mighty battle cry, the bright flash of lightning I had seen so many times before hit the barrier…

… and nothing happened. The glass wall flashed a soft lavender color, and absorbed the attack.

"Wha…?" I gasped.

Pikachu stared at the wall, puzzled. He tried again, this one even more powerful than the last. All it did was make the wall shimmer purple. His attacks didn't even rebound.

"Pika!" he cried in fright.

"Step aside," Drew commanded, pushing me out of the way. "Your Pokemon are too weak to handle this." He enlarged his pokeball and tossed it forward. "Go, Masquerain!"

The butterfly Pokemon burst out of its prison with a titter. It fluttered back into the trees when it saw the rain, afraid of getting wet.

"Masquerain!" Drew commanded. "Silver Wind, now!"

The Pokemon looked hesitant, but it complied. Unlike Pikachu's lightning attacks, this one rebounded and knocked Masquerain out of the sky. Drew was left to gape at his prize Pokemon, defeated by its own attack.

I was about to sneer something demeaning when Max leapt to his feet. "Oh God," he said in a strangled voice. His eyes were suddenly glassy with tears as he gazed out into the rain. "May."

I whipped around so fast that I nearly lost my balance. My eyes squinted into the downpour, but I honestly couldn't see anything. "Where?" I pressed. "Where is she?"

"You can't see her?" Max cried. He rushed at the barrier. "MAY!"

The young boy hit the barrier and flew backwards, a cut glistening on his forehead and a trickle of blood running from his nose. "MAY!" he yelled again.

"Max, be careful!" Dawn commanded, cringing at the sight of his blood.

Max ignored her and sprinted at the barrier again. He rebounded again, a dazed expression on his face. If he did it again I was sure he would cause himself brain damage. Unexpectedly he conjured a pokeball from his pocket. I had forgotten the kid had started his Pokemon journey. "GO KIRLIA!" he screamed.

A dainty Kirlia appeared in the flash, smiling broadly.

"Kirlia," Max huffed. "Use your Magical Leaf with Imprison and break the barrier!"

"Kir!" the Pokemon exclaimed, and it obeyed.

I didn't expect it to work, but it did. The wall glowed a faint purple, then shattered with such a tremendous crash it left my ears ringing.

And then the ringing turned into screaming. May's screaming.

***AN: Okay, I've been getting a few questions about the name "****Cináed****". Here is my source, from Baby Names Pedia, so you'll all know I'm not a liar. **

**The boy name Cináed is of Celtic origin and it is used mainly in the Scottish language. The name's meaning is 'born of fire'. Derived from the element _aed_ meaning 'fire'. Cináed was the Gaelic name of the 9th-century Kenneth MacAlpin, first king of the Picts and the Scots. The name is often Anglicized as Kenneth. **

**Cináed is a variation (Scottish) of the English and Scottish Kenneth.**

**A variation of Cináed is the Irish Cionaodh.**

**Cináed is infrequently used as a baby name for boys. It is not ranked within the top 1000 names. Among the group of boy names directly linked to Cináed, Kenneth was the most regularly used in 2008.**

**Baby names that sound like Cináed include the name Chandey, the English Chandie, the English Chandy, the Spanish Chanti, the Indian and English Chand, and the Irish Cionaodh.**

**I hope that clears it up for ya!***


	12. Rain

_"It feels so much like falling, separated from the fear, aware of a destination far away from here" - Flyleaf "Much Like Falling"_

12 Rain

The most powerful Pokemon in the world paced his lair in the Hall of Origin, growling menacingly. His fury was so intense that he pitied the fool who got in his way. His ghostly feet did not touch the ground as he trekked back and forth. The only sound in the hall was the whisper of wind as he moved.

"Father Arceus," called a voice.

Outraged, Arceus whirled around. "What do you want, Mesprit?" he snapped.

The pink fairy Pokemon blinked patiently. "You are angry, Father," she replied softly.

Arceus let out another growl and continued to pace the white floors of the Hall of Origin.

Mesprit looked at him curiously. "Is it Mother?" she asked.

"You know better than to pester me, child," Arceus replied coolly. He deliberately turned away from her.

Determined, the fairy Pokemon soared over him and appeared right in front of him. "Do I?" she said. "Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Arceus suddenly felt compliant. Why not tell Mesprit? She may be able to help… he shook himself. "I will not fall into your emotional games," he told her. "Leave before I do something I'll regret later."

Mesprit's expression was that of a teenage girl who didn't get her way. She floated out of the room, her nose in the air. "Careful," she warned whoever was coming in next. "He's not in a good mood."

Arceus narrowed his eyes. Who could it be _now_? "Leave now or face my Judgment," he commanded without turning around.

"I apologize, Father. I have no intention of disturbing you."

The Great Creator gaped, shocked. Suicune. Arceus _hated_ Suicune. He reminded him far too much of Yacaeli. "Too late, son. What do you want?"

Suicune watched him impassively. "Absol has arrived," he reported.

Arceus blinked. Was Suicune showing him respect? The insolent child had never shown even a glimmer of care for his father before! The water beast had always been more affectionate to his mother. "Very well, send him in," he said.

Suicune dipped his head in a respectful nod and disappeared, whisked away by the wind that always followed him.

A moment later Absol entered the Hall. A beautiful and confident Umbreon trailed after him, her head held high and her coat shining. Instead of feeling intimidated to stand in Arceus's presence, her expression told him that _he_ should be the one feeling intimidated.

"Good morrow, Father," Absol greeted, dipping his head. He sat down and waited for a response.

Arceus nodded. "Welcome, son. Are you ready?" He noticed the Umbreon merely sat and glared at him. Evidently she did not feel the need to show him respect.

"Yes, Father," Absol breathed. He was extremely excited to be doing this for Arceus.

The Great Creator cast a wary glance at the defiant Umbreon. "What is _that_ doing here?"

"_That_ has a name," Umbreon snapped. "And it's Tenebri."

Arceus recognized it as a name that meant "darkness". Fitting for a sassy Umbreon. "Alright," he said. "Then what is _Tenebri_ doing here?"

Tenebri flared up in an instant, sensing the distaste in his voice. Absol strategically placed his paw on hers so she wouldn't attack. "She is one of my accomplices, and I have chosen her to assist me on the task you have presented me with."

Arceus arched an eyebrow, but decided not to anger the Umbreon further. He really didn't want to have to hurt the little thing. "Very well."

Absol waited, and when Arceus said nothing, he began to squirm uncomfortably. "Father," he began, "what exactly did you want me to do?"

Abruptly, Arceus spun and resumed his furious pacing. "Yacaeli is a demon," he said, though Absol wasn't sure the words were meant for him. "A mistake that never should have happened. She has stolen back her abilities."

Absol gaped. "But how?"

"I. Don't. Know," Arceus said forcefully, emphasizing each word as if it were its own sentence. "I need you to go to her, find out how she did it, and…"

Tenebri sneered. "You want her dead, don't you?"

Arceus whipped around so quickly that Absol cowered, but Tenebri met the larger Pokemon's glare with one of her own. "And what makes you say that?" Arceus growled.

Tenebri narrowed her yellow eyes. "She humiliated you, turned your own children against you. And now she has again, by stealing back what was hers right from under your nose. And you're sick of it, so you want her gone, right?"

Arceus was fuming, but the obnoxious little Umbreon was right. He was sick of being humiliated by Yacaeli, and every time she tricked him, it only reminded him what a foolish creator he was. He had made creatures more powerful than himself, and that was a mistake.

But he was afraid to give the order to kill Yacaeli. He still loved her. Deeply. He wanted to be with her again, to nuzzle her creamy fur against his, to gaze into her moon-like eyes and see only love. He didn't want to be lonely anymore.

"No," Arceus said finally. The Umbreon arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Don't kill her. Take her powers away again." He closed his eyes, and a stone sparkling on a silver chain appeared. "This will do it for you. A Genesis Stone."

Absol and Tenebri stared at the stone in awe. It shimmered with a soft glow, and was the color of scarlet blood. It was shaped like a teardrop, glistening in the pure light of the Hall.

"Of course, Father," Absol said obediently. "We will not fail you."

The chain with the Genesis Stone went to rest around Absol's neck, where it looked more like a red scar than an exotic stone. "Good," Arceus said. "After you take them, take the stone off your neck. Then stand guard around her until I arrive."

Absol nodded eagerly. He stood and padded out of the Hall. Tenebri followed at a much more hesitant rate, her mind quickly forming a plan. Yacaeli didn't deserve to live, she reasoned. Arceus would be happier if they killed her. It only made sense.

Perhaps she could convince Absol to see it her way. After all, she was an _awfully_ pretty Umbreon…

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"MAY!!!" Max screamed. He sprinted towards his sister, panic causing his voice to crack.

Now that I could see May, I could see Max's reason for distress. May was crouched down in the middle of where our campsite had been, soaking wet, and her hands clutching her hair. Her mouth continued to siren off a high pitched scream of terror, and she was shaking with cold and fear.

"May!" I exclaimed, suddenly terrified. What could have scared her to that kind of state?

She didn't seem to hear. She just kept screaming, wailing like a Screech attack.

Drew rushed up to her, not far behind Max. He knelt in front of her, staring down at the back of her soaking head. Her face was practically buried in the ground. Timidly, he placed a hand on May's back. "May?" he asked gently.

May leapt up, standing so quickly it was incredible. "_I'll fight you!_" she screamed. Her eyes were red with tears, but in her fury the redness made her all the more terrifying. "_You won't take me! I'll kill you first!_"

I was too scared to say anything. This wasn't a temper tantrum; this was pure animal-like self defense. She felt that her life was threatened, and she would fight for it. I had seen Pokemon in situations like this, and most of the time… they couldn't be reasoned with.

Cautious, I stepped forwards, watching her. Her chest heaved as she panted for air, while her arms quivered with fright. Despite her terror, her eyes blazed with a rage so intense I was sure they would burn right through me.

The more I looked at her, the more I noticed how _wrong_ everything was. May shouldn't have been attacking us! Something had scared her, I was sure. And why was the rain on her exposed stomach pink?

I glanced over at Max, the cut on his forehead still bleeding. However, the blood wasn't as thick now that the rain was washing over it. It raced down his face in pinkish streaks, rather than pure red. Suddenly I knew what was wrong with May.

"You're bleeding!" I cried.

May wiped her face and held up her fists. "You think that makes me weak? _Come and get me!_"

Dawn placed her hand on May's arm, causing her to jump. "May, what's the matter with you?" she interrogated.

To everyone's surprise, May shoved Dawn behind her. The blunette was thrown into the mud. "Get behind me," she growled. "I'll protect you, Dawn."

"From what?" Dawn gasped. She struggled to get up, her elbows apparently in pain from the force May had used, but the brunette pushed her down again.

"_Them_," she hissed. "They took Max, Drew, and Ash. I won't let them take you too."

May was delusional. There was _nothing_ there save for the heavy rain and us. Misty wrenched her from behind and shook her violently. "Snap out of it!" she commanded. "Wake up, May, or I swear I'll knock your brains out."

Blinking, May looked directly into Misty's eyes. She seemed to wake. Then she looked around, bewildered. "But," she began feebly, "they were _here_. I saw them… take Drew… and Max… and Ash."

"Who?" Brock pressed.

She took a shuddering breath, and Misty relinquished her death grip. "They said they were the Sky Warriors. They… they were carrying…" she pointed nervously to me, Max, and Drew, "their heads on poles. And they said soon they would have the rest of us."

Brock knelt down close to her, cupping her wet face in his hands. "What did they look like?" he asked.

May blinked, still dazed. "They looked like birds."

***AN: Wow. Scary, huh? I was practically having a panic attack while I was writing this. I guess because in my head, it's a lot more real. I hope you guys can picture it the way I did, and totally psyche yourselves out. That's when you know you're reading something that was well written. You feel like you're IN it. **

**The annoying **Paragraph Break** is so you can tell the transitions. I thought the little separators were uploading, but they weren't.  
**

**Thank you for reading and all the reviews you've given to me!*  
**


	13. The Glass Castle

_"Imagine a room where the flowers they bloom through the cracks in the floor and the ceiling. Just you and the missus and rose scented kisses, my what a wonderful feeling" - Plain White T's "Welcome to Mystery" _

13 The Glass Castle

We were extremely terrified after that. With more speed than a herd of Rapidash we had cleaned up our damp campsite and were off again. We walked in a huddled group, jumping at every little thing. Soon our shoes were muddy, as were our pants from the ankle down.

The bracelet still felt oddly warm on my wrist, making the rest of my body feel strangely cold in comparison. I had the medallion Madame Eulixia had given me out, spinning it around and trying to decipher what the damn engravings said. They were complete gibberish, carved in a dead language.

Misty walked beside me, which was a comfort. If anything were to attack her, I was glad to be the one protecting her. She peered over my shoulder as I twirled the medallion around again. "Figure anything out yet?"

I shook my head. "It's completely unintelligible," I told her.

May leaned on Drew for support, still shaking from her delusions. Max hovered on her other side, ready to catch her. Dawn had found some Band Aids in her bag and forced the young Trainer to stick one on his forehead. He wasn't happy about it, but at least now he wasn't gushing blood. There wasn't much we could do about May's injury.

It had stopped raining, which was a relief. I don't think walking in that kind of storm would have been a good idea.

Paul remained unnaturally silent, even for him. He walked briskly with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his blue jacket, his purple hair hiding his face. It occurred to me that he hadn't said a thing when May had been distraught.

_Well, he doesn't have a heart,_ I told myself angrily. _You're expecting too much from the world's biggest jerk. _I adjusted my bag and continued to stare at the medallion, so hard that my head started to hurt. Those stupid little letters made NO sense at all.

"Hey," Brock said. He had taken the map from Misty and was now evaluating our path. "We just passed the 2,000 feet elevation point."

"Wonderful," Drew grumbled. He hated his backpack more each minute, since it was hell bent on sliding off his shoulders, while the traumatized May had to lean on him for support. I don't care who you are; May is heavy (no offense, May! You _do_ eat a lot of food, but I swear it doesn't show!), and I would be tired too if I were lugging her up a mountain.

"Was there a point to alerting us to that fact?" Paul asked with a roll of his eyes.

Brock shrugged. "I just thought you might want to know."

"Pika pika," Pikachu said. He jumped off my shoulder and scurried up ahead, curiously peaking around the curve we were approaching. Cautiously, his tiny nose wiggled as he sniffed the air.

"What is it, buddy?" I questioned.

Dawn made a face before releasing her Piplup. "Go see what's wrong," she commanded it.

"Pip!" exclaimed the tiny penguin, and it waddled after Pikachu eagerly. As it approached the turn where Pikachu was stationed, it froze, its beak quivering as it caught a scent on the wind.

"Huh," Brock observed. "That's strange."

"What?" I asked.

"I kinda expected them to attack us again," he explained.

"Yeah," Misty agreed. "Instead, they're just… confused, I guess."

The Pokemon exchanged a puzzled glance, then raced off out of sight.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, instantly panicking. Where were they going? I started to run after them, and everyone else followed me.

"Ash, wait up!" called Dawn.

Soon I reached the turn, curving gently upwards. In an instant what was behind the bend came into view. And I saw why the Pokemon had stopped.

A magnificent sight awaited me, practically glowing in its magnificence. It was a castle made entirely of glass, set right smack in the middle of our intended path. Yeah, a _castle_ on a _mountain_. Was there ever anything more out of the ordinary?

Right then, my alarm bells should've gone off. With May hallucinating combined with _this,_ we should have turned around and walked back down the mountain. But no, we stared at it, entranced, for Mew knows how long, until one of us finally blinked.

"It's so… beautiful," Dawn whispered.

Pikachu and Piplup had already reached the castle's glorious gates, staring up at it in awe. Quite unlike the two Pokemon, as they were almost always chattering away with each other.

It felt like a dream. I walked slowly towards the amazing thing before me, only slightly aware of my friends walking alongside me. It felt as if no one else in this world existed but me.

And then I felt a strange tug, and I knew that what I had just thought was false.

There was no one in the world except for me… and Misty.

I was overcome by such an intense desire for love that at first I wasn't sure what to do about it. Suddenly, we were at the castle gates, and then inside the glass beauty, and then I knew exactly what to do. I had utmost confidence in myself. Misty would never deny me if my plan worked. And even then, I was so sure it would work that I didn't have a doubt in my mind.

My eyes met Drew's, and he cast May a rather gentlemanly smirk (don't ask how he did it cause I'll never be able to explain it). Her fingers knotted themselves in his jacket as if she felt safe with him, and her shimmering sapphire eyes rolled up to gaze into his emerald ones. I was remotely jealous of the love they shared with that unspoken exchange, but I reminded myself that after tonight, I would have my own.

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Misty, May, and Dawn flounced into the shimmering glass room, their footsteps echoing beautifully on the translucent floor. It felt as if they knew every inch of this glass paradise, like they had lived in it their whole lives. "Come, girls," May called in a strangely lofty voice, her wound completely forgotten. "There is a ball tonight."

The other two floated after her, not a care in the world. "Yes, of course," Dawn echoed. "We must get ready for the ball."

"I wonder what dress I shall wear," Misty sang.

They drifted around the room, to a wardrobe that contained everything they could ever want. Glorious dresses of all colors awaited them, each one so beautiful they could walk around by themselves and be the most wanted partner at a dance.

Dazzled, the girls tried the dresses on, _ooh_ing and _aah_ing with each one. They were unable to decide which dress looked best, so they released their Pokemon to help them decide.

However, instead of giving an opinion of any sort, the Pokemon gazed at the door for a long moment before sprinting out of it. They raced out of the room and down the hall, silent, and the girls didn't see them again.

They couldn't have cared less.

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Something in my mind told me there was a dance. A ball sort of dance. And if I wanted to impress my fair Misty, I had to attend, dressed as a most striking gentleman, and woo her with elegant dance steps and some playful, flirtatious words.

I could pull it off, I was certain.

"Look," Drew called. He emerged from one of the adjoining rooms, dressed in one of the most ridiculous things I had ever seen.

It was a Spanish bullfighting outfit, colored a dark green to match his hair. There were streaks of gold across it, glittering like they were made of gems. He had a hat perched on his head that matched the rest of his getup. To top it all off, he had a cape of brilliant red draped over his arm.

I grinned. "May _does_ have the fighting spirit of a bull," I remarked.

Drew arched a skeptical eyebrow. "You may as well go out in your swim suit. Misty's guaranteed to get you wet."

I glanced at the array of clothes in the wardrobe, each one tasteful and certainly something my Misty would approve of. Eventually, I selected some marvelous black suit, and wearing it made me feel dangerous.

"Hey," Paul called, and we turned to comment on his outfit. However, Paul was yet to be dressed in his costume. "Do you guys get the feeling this isn't… right?"

Drew and I blinked, confused. "Why would you think that?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

Paul scowled at me, but it wasn't his usual angry glare. It was more puzzled than anything. He opened his mouth slowly, as if he were trying to form the words in his mind before putting them in the air.

Drew saw this and started to laugh. "Save it, my friend!" he chuckled. "Dawn loves to talk much more than we do."

Paul's face turned that weird shade of pink with embarrassment, causing him to turn on his heel and whisk away, grumbling something unintelligible.

Smirking, Drew glanced out the window, where there was nothing to see but villainous swirling clouds. "'Tis almost time," he remarked.

I nodded, agreeing. Something in the back of my mind said something wasn't right, but I wasn't about to listen. By the end of the night, Misty would be head over heels for me, and I wasn't about to let my conscience get in the way of that.

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Paul was _not happy_. They had walked into this damn glass castle that looked like something out of his little sister's Barbie doll collection, and all of a sudden Drew and Ash were going off about some ball and dressing up in outrageous costumes; the girls could be heard down the hall, giggling about Mew knows what; his Pokemon were fighting to get out of their balls; and Brock and Max had disappeared.

What in the name of Arceus was going on?

He stormed down the hall into a room that he just seemed to know was his. That made him even angrier. It was like the castle was controlling them, guiding them to its will.

And, by the way, what the _hell_ was a glass castle doing in the middle of a mountain path? It didn't make any sense.

Paul growled a little bit more and tore through the wardrobe that awaited him. The clothes were ludicrous. Stupid, frilly things straight out of the Renaissance era that even Shakespeare would have been ashamed to wear. He took one look at the ridiculously tight pants and felt a twinge of pain where the heart of manhood was. They were the equivalent of a woman's Spandex, save for a slit cut and then patched up so the men could breathe.

And, lo and behold, there were _tassels _hanging right were his balls were supposed to go. He winced and imagined them swinging as he walked, and threw the pants down in disgust. There was no way in heaven or hell he would ever wear that.

Paul hated being confused, as he was currently. He always knew what to do, except for right now. And it irritated him to no end.

"Paul!" called a sing-songy voice.

He already had a biting comment prepared to tell whoever the happy person was to _get lost_, but when he turned around, he saw it was Dawn. Paul instantly swallowed his words and proceeded to say nothing.

Dawn smiled her dazzling smile. She was leaning around the doorway mischievously, her beautiful blue hair swinging around her face. "Are you almost ready? The ball starts in an hour!"

Astounded, Paul blinked. Dawn was going on about this ball thing _too_? He shrugged, unsure of how to reply.

The blunette giggled. "Oh, don't tell me you're not coming! I shan't have a dance partner if you don't come!"

Paul stared. _Shan't?_

Again, Dawn giggled, and she vanished from his doorway. Paul heard her excited feet pattering down the glass hall.

He shook his head. This was _definitely _not right.

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Max and Brock huddled in the dark corner, terrified. It felt like the wonders of the glass castle were from another day and age, while they were merely a couple dozen feet below it. The Pokemon advanced, growling menacingly. "N-nice Piplup," Brock squeaked.

The penguin gave an indignant squeak and Pikachu gave Brock an electric shock.

Max quaked with fear and, though he had no tears, his glasses were strangely blurry. He could barely see his attackers. They were merely blurs of color coming towards him with deadly intentions. _I _told_ May there was something wrong with them!_ he thought indignantly, but there was no time to be angry at his sister. His life was in danger.

Wait. What was that? A clear shape in his fuzzy vision?

Not just clear. Whatever it was, it was _shining_. Like Max was supposed to focus on it and it alone.

Momentarily, he forgot his fear, until he realized he had seen that thing before.

The majestic cat watched him with her glorious yellow eyes, her tail swishing furiously. She stood far behind the other Pokemon, set higher up as if superior. Impossible wings unfolded from the blades of her shoulders, glistening like the night sky.

Yacaeli gave a low growl before leaping into the air and out of an incredibly tall window, leaving a single, silvery feather behind. The other Pokemon—and Brock, for that matter—didn't even notice her. They proceeded to surround Max and the Breeder, firing painful attacks every time they moved.

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I felt my face form a smirk worthy of Drew as the six of us filtered into the dance hall. The three girls looked beautiful, without a doubt, but the pinnacle was Misty. She wore a flowing dress of the softest blue, something that girls would call a "twirling dress". Her hair was down, curling elegantly at her shoulders. And her perfect cerulean eyes were locked on mine, ready.

May, of course, seemed to have known what Drew was going to wear and had donned a Spanish dress of deep red and a huge skirt. She had placed a decorative flower in her hair, and it _did_ look nice, but I had eyes only for Misty.

However, I can't skip over Dawn. Her outfit was far too stunning to do that.

Our favorite blunette was wearing a pure white dress that barely reached her ankles. Exquisite designs curled up at the hem, visible only when the light caught it just right. Someone had braided white ribbons into her navy hair, causing Dawn to look more like a bride than anything. But it was pretty, I must admit.

Music started, and now that I think about it I wonder where it came from. I took Misty's delicate hand and pressed my lips to it. She blushed sweetly as I proceeded to snake my arm around her waist in a well-practiced waltz I never knew I knew.

"Nervous?" I murmured. My lips were at her ear, tickling her with each breath.

Misty blinked teasingly and moved so that we were nose to nose. "Not in the least, Ketchum."

We danced for what felt like only a few minutes (it was probably more like hours) before I could no longer resist her. "Are you ready?" I whispered. She knew exactly what I meant.

A sly grin crept onto her perfect pink lips. "I always have been," she replied.

It makes me blush to say that we just up and walked out of the hall, up to what was supposedly my room. I led her to the bed, and she sat down. I pulled off my jacket; she grinned devilishly.

I perched on the bed next to her, my confidence through the roof. I had her now. "So," I began, "did you have a good time?"

She smiled, and it only boosted my coolness even more. "I think you can make it better," she said seductively.

I smirked again, and gently took her hand. It was sweetly cool, assuring me of her certainty. We were inching closer. "And I will," I whispered. My eyes closed instinctively. Our lips met in a sweet kiss, something that was so sure it felt like it had been planned in a movie. We separated, and met each others gaze with mischievous smiles.

"I can't believe I waited all these years for you to do that," Misty said huskily.

"I can't believe I'm waiting again," I replied, and I kissed her again, much more vigorously.

She returned my kisses with her warm, supple lips. I moved from the corner of her mouth down her neck, nuzzling between kissed. She sighed contentedly, and I felt her delicate lips on my earlobe. My hands ran up and down her back, tangling themselves in her gorgeous red hair. I felt her grab a fistful of my hair in order to push me down on the bed.

"Oh, Ash," she moaned. "This is heaven."

… Heaven? Wait, what? Hang on, she was right! This was _far_—I mean, _way_—too perfect to be real. I'm not gonna lie, I was enjoying it, but… suddenly everything seemed slow, even dulled. This wasn't right. We had just gone to a _ball_ composed of six people on a journey up a mountain. Where was the logic in that?

Wait… only six people. There were people missing…

"Ash?" Misty said, confused. "How come you stopped?"

I pushed her off, a little more forcefully than I originally intended. "Something's not right."

She glared at me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. "No way," she growled. "This is as right as it gets." And she kissed me again.

I forgot everything.

***AN: Look at me, I made it FOUR days! Woo! So, there's the romance that I promised! It was super weird, I know, but Mt. Fellorit is NOT your average mountain. K, I'm exhausted. Had a long day of swim team, university lectures, and bridge breaking. Oh, and crappy college pizza. Also, you may have noticed I changed all my transitions to lame "Paragraph Breaks" because I realized my asterisk transitions didn't show on the real thing. So I had to go and change ALL OF THAT. It was miserable, but it was worth it if it makes it easier for you guys to read. Yeah, I hate it too.***


	14. Waking Up

_"Lets hear it for America's Suitehearts! But I must confess, I'm in love with my own sins. You can bow and pretend that, you don't, don't know you're a legend. Time, time, time hasn't told anyone else yet. Let my love loose again" - Fall Out Boy "America's Suitehearts" _

14 Waking Up

Paul and Dawn were still dancing, if it were to be called that. Paul reluctantly held his arms around Dawn's waist and Dawn sighed hopelessly, since it was clear he was _not_ going to give her any thing sensual.

May and Drew had gone off to do exactly what Ash and Misty were doing in another room, leaving our plum head and blunette alone on the dance floor.

Dawn was getting bored, so she switched tactics. "Hey Paul," she said in her sexiest voice.

Paul was barely paying attention. "Huh?" he replied. His mind was trying to figure out what the effing hell was _wrong_ with this castle.

She looked at him expectantly, but he didn't meet her eyes. "Are you not going to take me to your room?"

He shivered visibly. On one hand, he could get some serious love time with Dawn; on the other, he could get them all the hell out of this freaking castle and maybe get a thank-you kiss from Dawn later. _Maybe_.

"Paul," she purred, taunting him.

He had to shake his head to clear it. In a split second, he made his decision. Paul grabbed Dawn's wrist and sprinted out of the hall, much to her delight. "Paul, slow down!" she giggled, yet excitement coursed through her. "I didn't know you'd be so eager."

Without a word, Paul ran down the hall that branched off into the three guys' rooms. However, instead of throwing open the door of his room, he flung open Ash's.

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Misty and I jumped, but didn't pull apart. We turned to glare at our intruder, and saw Paul and Dawn standing in the doorway.

"Um, Paul, darling," Dawn cooed, "I think this is the wrong room."

"We have to get out of here," Paul said in a commanding voice.

I blinked, and then _boom_, I remembered why I had pushed Misty away a few minutes ago. "He's right," I said, and Misty gave me a most puzzled expression. "We need to leave, right now."

Without another thought, I grabbed her wrist similar to the way Paul clutched Dawn and dragged her out of the room. She didn't protest, just got this really confused look on her face.

"Where's May and Drew?" Paul asked.

I pointed at Drew's room. "Try there."

We looked. It was empty.

I groaned. "Guess the bed wasn't enough for those two, huh?" I said sarcastically.

"Wait, _Paul_," Dawn whined. "We're not going to… you know…"

"No," snapped Paul. He didn't dare split us up, should we fall back into the horrible trance. I couldn't believe I had been _kissing_ Misty. And then some.

Did I just accuse this trance of being horrible? I take it back. The trance had been bliss, but… it wasn't right. Not in the least.

"May!" I called. "Drew!"

Dawn and Misty blinked. "Why are you looking for them?" Dawn asked.

"Because we need to leave," Paul growled.

Suddenly, the girls became distraught. "But I don't _want_ to leave!" they wailed. They grabbed Paul and me by our clothes, clutching us and begging to stay. It was easy for Paul to turn Dawn away, since he was always so cold, but it was another story entirely for me to say no to Misty. I'd known her for over six years, and I'd seen her cry once, maybe twice. Seeing this display of pain and misery was almost unbearable for me.

A noise woke me from my trance. I blinked. This wasn't the time to… yeah, do whatever my hormones wanted me to. We were in danger here, I could feel it. So could that damn bracelet.

We sprinted through the castle, and it began to seem less like a paradise and more like a prison. There were suddenly more turns than before, and I couldn't remember my way around. Instead of glowing with radiance, the castle grew darker. I began to slip on the glass floor.

"DREW!" yelled Dawn. "MAY!" She and Misty were waking up, realizing how dire our situation was.

Paul, who was leading our pack, began to slow. "Wait a minute," he said. "This is right back where we started."

I looked around, and, sure enough, there was the bed Misty and I had been messing up just a few minutes ago. I glanced around the remainder of the room, poking in the doorway. "My bag!" I cried, and I snatched it up. That was _not_ something I wanted to forget. It had all my Pokemon—.

The bag was strangely light. I tore it open and saw only empty balls. All my Pokemon were gone.

There wasn't time to worry about it. We reached into all the other rooms and grabbed our personal belongings, along with Drew and May's, and rushed on.

********************************************I think I'll start putting weird messages in these**************************************************

_The window_. Max stared at the sliver of moonlight that had somehow penetrated the clouds and found its way into his desperate cell. The Pokemon had made it clear they weren't attacking, but standing guard. Evidently something bigger was coming.

So it only made sense that he and Brock had some time.

Slowly, so as not to excite the Pokemon with a sudden movement, Max nudged Brock. Brock jumped, having already given up, and looked at the younger boy frantically.

Without a word, Max gestured to the window. The moonlight reflected off his glasses.

Brock followed his hand to see what he was pointing at, and his mouth fell open when he realized it. The window was set incredibly high. There was no way a human could hoist himself through it.

"Unless…" Brock breathed, and a look of understanding flashed across his face. Ash's Staraptor twisted its neck around, glared at them with a beady eye, and turned its back to them again. It was suspicious, but not nearly as cautious as it should have been.

In the next second the two boys had jumped the bird, startling it and causing it to take flight with them on its back. Immediately the other Pokemon were on the attack, firing everything they had and not afraid to hit one of their own. However, their assaults were feeble without their Trainer to guide them.

The only one they were truly worried about was Pikachu.

The terrified bird flew up and up, zigzagging through the air in an attempt to throw its riders off. But Brock and Max held tight, and the Staraptor was unable to shake them. It flew closer and closer to the window.

"PIKA!" came the furious cry. A jolt of electricity shot through Max, so painful that he almost lost his grip. It felt like his nerves were on fire, shaking uncontrollably. He felt himself cringe from the shock, and he even counted the number of beats his heart skipped. His vision went from blurred to double, scaring him even more.

Abruptly the Staraptor crashed into the wall just below the window. Brock, who had recovered quicker than Max, managed to grab hold of the open window before the bird circled to the ground. Max found himself hanging on Brock's pant leg, dangling twenty feet above a horde of furious Pokemon.

Brock heaved himself over the edge of the window, dragging Max with him. The Pokemon below howled with rage at their escaped prey, and fired a few badly aimed attacks. Miraculously, Brock and Max crawled onto the muddy mountain path, alive.

******************************************************BOO! I'm a ghost LOL************************************************************

There were only so many places in the glass castle, so I reasoned that May and Drew had to be in _one_ of them. We looked freaking everywhere, and still couldn't find them.

"May!" Misty yelled with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Drew-ew!" she said, elongating the last syllable.

Suddenly, the air didn't feel right. It seemed like we weren't the only ones breathing it anymore.

Dawn saw it first, and she screamed.

I didn't want to know what in Mew's name had scared her so bad; I just grabbed the nearest person and took off, praying desperately that others were following. The bracelet began to burn with a searing heat. I felt my skin begin to sweat beneath it, making the bracelet slide up and down my forearm.

"GO!" screamed Misty, who I'd apparently grabbed. She was starting to trip in her heels. "Let's get _out of here!_"

My curiosity got the better of me, and I cast a quick glance behind.

What I saw, I can hardly describe. At first I thought we were being chased by a giant pile of trash, but then I realized that it wasn't composed of garbage; hundreds of Pokemon—some dead, some alive and screaming—had come together in a grotesque moving pile that was another living thing entirely. Two enormous eyes bulged from between the bodies, set unevenly. A disgusting mouth split near the bottom, its maw opening wide. A few of the bodies fell into it, and the creature barely noticed. Panic rose in my chest as the mob of destruction gained on us with an unearthly roar.

Misty yanked her heels off and had effectively thrown it into the creature's eye.

The eye blinked painfully and we started running again. Furious, the creature screamed and pursued. Terror and adrenaline was pulsing through me, yet the urge to fight was getting stronger. I remembered what incredible power the bracelet had.

_It wouldn't be smart to fight in here,_ I told myself. _You're in a glass castle, and glass breaks way too easily. Wait until you are outside. _

The four of us swung a hard left turn, slipping a little on the glass floor. I dreaded the sound of it cracking below us, especially with a monster like that on our tail.

The repulsive creature turned too sharply, and its side crashed into the wall. The glass fractured where it hit, but the monster didn't slow. Misty had linked her arm with Dawn's, and Dawn with Paul's, so that we had become a human chain. A clumsy, terrified human chain that was running for its life, but it was working.

That is, until Paul tripped.

He didn't fall gracefully, either. Paul was out of breath, and his shoes didn't have the best grip. His feet got tangled up in each other, causing him to fall.

Unfortunately, when he fell, he yanked Dawn's arm and pulled her down. The same went for Misty, and for me. Due to the slickness of the glass, Paul went sliding the few feet into an open door, pulling the rest of us with him.

Next thing I knew, we were tumbling down a flight of unforgiving stone stairs, my head bashing into rock and my friends as we rolled. I found myself at the bottom, looking up at the postage stamp of light that was the doorway. My head throbbed painfully. I was on top of the pile, with Paul at the bottom. The poor girls were sandwiched between us.

"Pika?"

I jumped to my feet, the heat of the bracelet starting to diminish. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Pikachu, Piplup, and all of the girls' other Pokemon. I blinked in confusion. They blinked right back.

The corpse creature roared from above, causing the Pokemon to jump in fright. A single giant eye filled up the entire space of the doorway above us.

"Sta!" cried Staraptor, and I wondered when it had gotten out of its ball. Suddenly, the bird Pokemon grabbed all four of us in its massive talons by our various body parts. It jumped into the air and headed for the window that was high above us. I dangled by my leg, and couldn't help but scream in terror. Staraptor did _not_ have a good grip on me.

We flew clumsily to the window, Misty and Dawn screeching in my ear while Paul simply looked pale. I yelled at Staraptor, demanding to know what the f*** it was doing. (Please pardon the editing. If my mom reads this and something like that's in there, I'm dead. Delia is a real stickler about language.)

Dawn's Togekiss grabbed a few other Pokemon, while Paul's Honchkrow managed to carry three. May's Beautifly, along with Drew's three flying Pokemon, got the rest. Misty's Azurill was the only one left, and Dawn's Aipom grabbed it before it scampered straight up the wall.

"GO, _GO!_" I yelled the instant we landed on the ground. The four of us scrambled to our feet, kicking up mud as we hurried to get away. Our stampede of Pokemon followed us, all of them yelling to one another things I'll never understand.

We were all in full-tilt panic, madly sprinting away from the glass castle. There were two figures panting on the ground up ahead of us, and I didn't realize who they were until I tripped over them.

Max and Brock were scratched and bruised, and extremely happy to see us. May and Drew were nowhere to be found.

*********************************************There are two chickens staring at me. Creepy.**************************************************

Yacaeli blinked lethargically as she gazed down at the pathetic humans. Her majestic head rested on her crossed paws, yellow eyes following their meager progress. They hadn't fallen for the castle trap, and she hadn't expected them to. In fact, she'd hoped they would escape. It was far more fun to let them almost achieve their prize and then pull the rug out from under them.

Her tail swished behind her, creating a small cloud of dust. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the human with black hair. A chuckle rumbled in her throat as he tripped over the two humans sitting on the ground.

She choked off her laughter when she something glint on his wrist. The light of the moon that glowed from the clouds caused the gold bracelet to shimmer. And it shimmered _red_.

Instantly furious, the great cat rose to her feet and paced down the ledge, her eyes never leaving the progress of the humans. It couldn't be! It simply was not possible! Yacaeli had gotten rid of the Fire, she was sure of it. Destroyed it, shattered it into millions of pieces that were impossible to put back together.

And yet, there was that accursed Fire, attached to the boy's wrist. How in her lover's name had it gotten there?

She watched the raven-haired boy as he scrambled to his feet, urging his friends to keep going. She could see the glow of concern in his amber eyes, despite how far away she was.

Those eyes! She had destroyed those eyes as well, at least sixteen years ago. Twenty-four years after she had stolen her powers back, she had killed those wretched eyes.

And if the boy turned his head just a little bit, those horrible eyes would be on her. Memories raced through her mind, things she truly dreaded to think about.

_The girl with flaming red hair thrust her sword forward at her own Pokemon. A look of fierce determination was painted on her beautiful face. She was young, cunning, and fast: a force to be reckoned with. _

_But the girl had met her match. She was losing. _

_Yacaeli paced the floor of her cave, glaring venomously at the girl as she fought. "Adara," she growled, "it's ironic, isn't it? You will be killed by what you brought here to end my life. I find it amusing." _

_Adara ruthlessly plunged the sword into her prize Vulpix, a creature she had trained from the day she started her journey. "I suppose," Adara replied as her most precious Pokemon slid of the sword and fell to the ground with a sickening thump. "But you see, Yacaeli, I've kept many secrets from you." She tapped her skull knowingly. "Hidden deep in here." _

_Yacaeli snorted. "There is nothing I don't know of you," she laughed. _

_Adara laughed along with her. "Yes there is," she chortled. She slashed another one of her Pokemon through the heart. "This." _

_And Adara raised her arm into the air. The bracelet on her wrist glowed with incredible heat. Her remaining Pokemon leapt at her, but soon she and they were consumed by the light the bracelet emitted, and Yacaeli could no longer see the battle. _

_After that, the fight was far too bloody to describe…_

Yacaeli snarled viciously. Adara was dead and gone, along with the bracelet. Again, Yacaeli had not seen the bracelet coming. She had seen that stupid boy, but not the bracelet.

The great cat unfurled her wings and launched herself into the night, touching down occasionally on the mountain for a boost up. Her mind replayed the last thing she had seen before Adara died, when she reached into the human's memories to extract everything that had been hidden…

_A tiny child, wrapped in a soft blue blanket. His arms flailed stiffly and were the color of a newborn child. His pink eyelids still were not open. _

_Adara scooped up the baby, and Yacaeli could feel the grin on the human's face. "Cináed," she whispered._

***AN: TADA! Wasn't it beautiful? Adara means fire as well, so don't be confused. What an exciting chapter, eh? You should totally review, cuz I had just about the worst day ever which consisted of my math teacher calling me "hun" while trying to console me (I was crying. I HATE it when I cry, cuz EVERYONE has to ask you what's wrong and blah blah blah and it's a pain in the butt) which is okay if they're a girl but he's NOT. So... you should brighten my day. I'm making a super fast update for you guys. So... yeah. Please make me smile!* **_  
_


	15. Recuperate

_"Do you feel like a man, when you push her around? When your lies crumble down, a new life she has found. Face down in the dirt, she says 'this doesn't hurt', she says, she's finally had enough" - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus "Face Down" (acoustic cuz it's so much sadder) _

15 Recuperate

May and Drew stared in horror at the sight before them. The ground was sparkled with blood like a sick version of glitter. The girl with the bruised face flicked her eyes up to meet their terrified ones with an evil look. May was reminded repulsively of herself, when she was much, much younger. The girl's innocent lips curled into a demonic smile. She raised her thumb to her mouth and sucked the blood off it, sapphire eyes and brunette hair giving May the feeling that she was looking at an old photograph of herself.

Drew and May clutched each other a little tighter, wincing as the girl raised the rock to cut herself again. The blood splattered onto May's red dress, and she fought the urge to be sick.

The younger May winked. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

********************************************************So, wassup, everyone?*********************************************************

We were far away from the castle, and decided it was safe to collapse on all fours and pant for air like we'd been under water our whole lives. Misty began coughing erratically, causing Dawn to clap her on the back.

Max rolled onto his back and stared up at the clouds, his chest rising and falling with every breath he took. "Where's… May?" he panted.

I shook my head, and avoided his eyes. The pain on his face was more than I could bear. His sister was everything to him. Not being with her probably killed him.

"No need to worry," Dawn assured him with a smile. "She's around here somewhere."

Brock and I nodded, but soon Misty had taken my attention.

She was sprawled on the ground, still coughing. Dawn reached over and wiped the mud off the redhead's cheek, something I wish I'd have noticed so I could have done it myself.

"We have to go back and get May," Max insisted. He had regained his breath, stood up, and dusted himself off. "Before something terrible happens to her."

Paul shook his head. "No _way_ am I going in there again," he snapped bitterly. "That place was freaking awful."

"He's right," I agreed, somewhat hesitantly. "It's dangerous in that castle. We should just wait to see if May and Drew come out on their own."

Reluctantly, Max sank to the ground, staring lividly in the direction of the castle. "For five minutes," he complied. "After that, I'm going in after them."

**********************************************I'm having a pretty good day. Made dulce de leche bars******************************************

Drew stepped protectively in front of May as the demon child licked a stream of blood off her forearm. He felt horribly queasy; he could take the sight of blood, but the sight of someone _eating_ it was a different matter entirely.

"What's the matter?" called a new voice. "Don't you think it's pretty?"

Horrified, Drew and May turned to see the newcomer emerge from the shadows. He was shorter than the girl, with a short crop of green hair on his head. His eyes glittered, emerald and mischievous. Drew swallowed as he recognized a twisted version of himself, years younger.

The young Drew smirked, his skin pale and ghostly in the moonlight. "It reminds me of roses," he said bluntly. Teasingly, he took the rock from the younger May and licked her blood off it.

"Ooh, I love roses," breathed the young May. Her eyes gazed down at the younger Drew innocently. "Please show me roses. I love roses so much."

Evil Drew met the girl's sapphire eyes. "Of course," he smiled, and he slashed his wrist open.

Oh, there were roses alright. They splattered onto the ground like something out of a horror film, and Drew's stomach lurched. He felt a sharp pain on his wrist, like he was remembering an old scar.

May fainted beside him, suddenly a dead weight hanging on his arm rather than a source of comfort. Drew was about to surrender to the sickening sight, wishing to fall asleep and never wake up again, when he glanced skyward.

Bright red eyes glistened out of the darkness, like a creature crouched and waiting in the mountain. The vicious eyes met his, and they seemed to… panic?

Drew blinked, confused and wondering momentarily if he had been hallucinating. He turned back to the awfulness of their past selves slicing themselves into pieces.

The young Trainer had to blink again. Where had the kids gone? Had the eyes scared them off?

Well, whatever the reason, Drew and May were free from their hypnotizing satanic ritual. He scooped up his unconscious friend bridal style, pushing all thoughts from his mind except for getting away. (Yes, he didn't even think about Truth or Dare.)

As he ran as best he could while carrying May, Drew sent a silent thanks to the red eyes. Whether they were good or bad, they had helped, and he was eternally grateful.

*****************************************************I'm going to go eat them as soon as they cool******************************************

"Great Arceus, Absol, did they see you?" Tenebri snapped.

Absol looked away shamefully. "I think the green one did."

The Umbreon rolled her eyes and made a most exasperated sound.

"They were behaving peculiarly," Absol said, trying to defend himself. "The two of them were staring at air, looking like they had eaten rotten berries. And then the female fainted." He glanced at Tenebri. "There were no battle moves. Perhaps Yacaeli is messing with their minds."

Tenebri snorted. "What interest would the great Yacaeli have in such pathetic humans? You saw them; they're young, incompetent, and they only have fur on their heads. Does that sound like a threat?"

"She has been threatened by humans before," argued Absol.

"And she won," continued the Umbreon. She sidled up to Absol persuasively. "These humans, if they get far enough up this mountain, will be in danger, like the others before them. Remember, it's our job to protect all humans.

"It is our _job_," Absol said shortly, "to take back Yacaeli's powers and then guard her until Father arrives."

"Your father loves humans very much," Tenebri said gently, though inside she was bristling. "If he didn't, he wouldn't have made so many. Do you think he'll be happy if we let these ones die?" When Absol didn't answer, she continued. "These humans are special, I can feel it. We must use any means possible to protect them. Even if that means… killing Yacaeli." She said the last two words as if she didn't dare repeat it.

Absol was quiet for a while. "I'm sure it won't come to that," he murmured.

Tenebri flicked her ears and batted her lovely eyes. She nuzzled Absol affectionately. "Good. I trust you, Absie."

The disaster Pokemon went as red as the stone around his neck at the nickname and didn't reply. Tenebri let him rush ahead, smirking victoriously. He may not have completely agreed, but he hadn't completely disagreed either. Absol was hers to sway.

*************************************************They have to cool for two hours, so it'll be a while********************************************

"It's been five minutes," Max announced.

"Be patient, kid," we all snapped, though worry was starting to creep into our minds, completely uninvited. I was starting to squirm with anticipation, almost tricking myself into believing I saw the two of them walking casually around the bend.

I blinked. There they were! My fantasy of their entrance was extremely far off, considering the fact that Drew was sprinting pell-mell towards us and appeared to be carrying May in his arms.

Max was on his feet and racing out to meet the green haired Coordinator. "What happened?" he cried. "What did you do to her?"

Drew stumbled to his knees and managed to let May down gently before completely loosing his balance. He wheezed and panted, sucking the air like he'd never had the stuff before. "She passed out," he exhaled.

I stared at him worriedly. He wasn't looking too good himself. Dawn and I rushed to the unconscious May, gently shaking her. She moaned softly, but that was it.

I sighed in relief. She was alive.

"What made her faint?" Dawn asked with concern.

He shook his head, a sign that it was too horrific to describe. "Let's just get moving, okay? I want off of this mountain."

**************************************I'm gonna make a cake tomorrow for my engineering class to enjoy*****************************************

The sight was not one to be treasured. Ripped pieces of rubber littered the ground, cut as if by claws. Parts of what used to be a balloon were blackened and burned. The basket was on its side, the wicker still smoking.

Two bodies were lying unconscious in the smoldering remains of their air vehicle. Their faces were burned slightly from the explosion when the balloon had crashed into the mountain. Bright red scratches adorned their faces. One small cat shook his head and looked around at the destruction surrounding him.

"Oh no," he murmured. He looked at his claws. A piece of rubber was still lodged in them. "Jessie, James, wha'd I do?"

***AN: So, why did Meowth destroy the balloon? Hopefully you all can figure it our yourselves, cuz a few chapters back I think I made it pretty obvious. Remember, reviews make everything better. Anyone who reviews shall receive a piece of the dulce de leche bars I made. Hopefully they're good and worth reviewing for. **

**I just wanna give a shout out to pokemaster101 for all the amazing reviews she's given me. You guys are all amazing and fantastic and I don't know what'd I do without you. Au revior, till next time!*  
**


	16. Lava is Bad

_"I think I'll go to Boston, I think that I'm just tired, I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind. I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of sunset, I hear it's nice in the summer, some snow would be nice" - Augustana "Boston"_

16 Lava is Bad

I tried to think about my wonderful lovey dovey time with Misty, to relish it and be glad it happened, but I couldn't. The memory didn't even feel like a pleasant dream. It was something that had happened to someone else, not me.

All the Pokemon had been put back into their balls, much to Max and Brock's gratefulness. We had seen a handful more of wild Pokemon, and skirted past them in a most rabbit-like fashion. They had glared at us with beady eyes, out of the shadows, extremely ominous and not how I liked things staring at me.

Yata was creeping around in my mind, her yellow eyes narrowed and threatening. I remembered the time on the boat, where she had looked over the side after Pikachu had attacked me. _"It was Yacaeli,"_ she'd said.

Could a single Pokemon have that much control over others that far away? Sure, that's what Oak was claiming when we were in his lab, but it didn't seem plausible. I wondered if it was just a Meowth that happened to have an extremely strong Drowsee and that weird machine thing, like the last time Pikachu turned against me.

Well, Yata was an idiot. She was like one of those Amish people who'd been raised believing the year was 1769, so totally in denial that not even a psychic could get them out. I disregarded her words completely and tried to focus on what was necessary.

Sleep. We desperately needed sleep. "Guys," I called wearily. "I think we should rest."

In response, they collapsed on the ground, piling close together to keep warm. Only Paul scooted away. The prude. He'd rather freeze to death than even suggest he cared.

I yawned widely and dropped next to Misty, sighing with exhaustion. "Good night," I mumbled. I fought the urge to snake my arm around her sleeping form, which is hard when you're so tired you can hardly tell yourself it's bedtime.

"G'night," was the halfhearted response.

My eyes slipped shut, and I started to dream.

The mountain was seriously screwing with my subconscious. Never had I had such strange dreams, and my dreams are usually pretty weird. Like I had one where Misty decided to become a Fire Pokemon Trainer instead and then unleashed a fire breathing Gyrados on me. Then Dawn and Brock came in wearing clowns suits, and they used their clown magic to transport me to a planet where Pikachus ruled the world and it was REALLY strange.

But I'm getting off topic. Again. Anyways, the second dream I had on the mountain was beyond strange.

I dreamed that crazy old lady had angel wings, and flew up to the cloud I was standing on. "Madame Eulixia has a message for you," she announced.

I stared, silent. What was I supposed to say?

"The message is this: 'Go where you have not gone before. Follow the light, because it knows where it's going'." She looked at me sternly. "You still have medallion?"

I managed to nod.

"Good," she said. "Madame Eulixia is pleased. Get it out now."

My hands fumbled as I rushed to obey her. The golden circle now rested in my hands, the carvings still complete gibberish.

The old woman's blind eyes met mine. "You cannot read this, yes?" she asked.

Again I gave a tiny nod. Skeptically, the woman waved her hand over the medal.

My jaw dropped in disbelief. What had been Latin a few moments ago had suddenly been translated into English. The words were readable.

I read them greedily, hoping for some key that would tell me _exactly_ what I had to do. To my immense surprise, it did. It told me to the most finite detail what to do, how to do it, everything! I couldn't believe it was so simple!

"Hey, Ash, wake up!"

I jumped into consciousness, remembering where I was. My back was covered in dirt, and all of me was sore from sleeping on the ground. I got up rather stiffly and looked around. I was the last one to wake.

"C'mon, we're all ready to go," Drew continued. He threw me my bag, smirking in satisfaction when it hit my hands instead of falling in them.

"Go where?" I asked. I surveyed them, confused. "We're still going up, right?"

They all exchanged uncertain glances. "Well," Brock began, "we've decided that this is too dangerous, even for us."

I blinked. "What?"

"This isn't safe, Ash," Misty translated. "We're all going to get killed. You _saw_ that thing that was chasing us, right? Or do I have to drag you back to the castle so you can get a good look?"

"No! We can't leave!" I exclaimed. I brandished the bracelet, glinting on my wrist. "This thing is the key! This thing will help us kill Yacaeli!"

"It'll help _you_ kill Yacaeli," said May. "As for the rest of us, we're getting out of here."

They were abandoning me? No! That wasn't supposed to happen! "You guys can't do that," I choked. "The prophecy, remember?"

"Screw the prophecy," Paul snapped, even colder than usual.

"No, no, I have to do this, and I need you guys with me," I insisted.

"Why," said Dawn. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Why?" I repeated. "I, uh, I…"

Paul rolled his eyes. "I knew it. C'mon, let's go."

I looked at them desperately, but even Misty's eyes were cold. "Goodbye, Ash Ketchum," she said, and then they were gone.

"Hey, Ash, wake up!"

I jumped and leapt to my feet, momentarily forgetting my stiffness. Everyone was surrounding me with looks of concern on their faces. I blinked, confused. "You're still here?" I questioned.

"Of course we are!" Dawn replied cheerily. "Where else would we go?"

"You were having a nightmare," May explained.

Was I? "What did I do?" I asked.

"You just said things like 'don't leave me' and 'I have to do this'," Brock said.

"And you were so asleep I was about to whack you with my mallet to wake you up," said Misty comfortingly.

I sniffed. "Gee, thanks," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Drew shoved a granola bar in my face. "Eat. We need to get going."

Cautiously, I took it from him. "You mean you guys want to stay with me?" I interrogated warily.

"Dude, wherever you go, the fun follows," Drew replied. He gave his hair a careless flick.

May yanked on my arm. "Now get up. I hate being so close to that castle."

I managed to get to my feet with the hindrance of her help** (once again, alliteration!)** and brushed myself off.

"Pika!" came the familiar cry, and the tiny yellow mouse launched himself onto my shoulder.

I scratched his ears absentmindedly. "So we're all ready to keep going forward?"

"Hell yeah, Ketchum," Drew exclaimed. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulders. Already it was slipping. "Let's get cookin', okay?"

And once again, we were off.

I wanted to walk next to Misty, and I didn't. I felt extremely awkward, so I reached into my pocket hoping to find some lint to fiddle with. I pulled out the medallion.

The medallion!

Suddenly worried, I brought the medallion right up to my face, desperate to see if it was still in English. To my despair, the words had gone back to their impossible language. I racked my brains, trying to remember what it had freaking _said_, but nothing came up. All I could recall was that terrible nightmare of everyone leaving me.

I blinked (wow I've been blinking a lot). Yacaeli had power over the mind, dreams especially. What if she had seen that dream, and threw that other one in there to make me forget the first one? It was possible, but highly unlikely.

Most of the nightmares I had were about being abandoned, or something ridiculous like jazz playing clowns (now that one was _weird_). The fact that that particular nightmare was about everyone leaving me seemed very coincidental.

"Hey May," I called, suddenly inspired with an idea.

May turned around, curious. She walked backwards in order to talk to me. "Yeah?"

"What's your biggest fear?" I quizzed.

She stared at me, puzzled, before replying. "Like, something that can happen, or something that _is_. Cuz mine are different."

"Both," I pressed.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I guess something that would happen would be you guys getting hurt and me not being able to do anything about it."

I pondered this for a moment, remembering what she had said yesterday morning about me, Max, and Drew being dead. With our heads on poles, I believe. Ew. "And your other fear?"

She blushed, embarrassed. "I know this is stupid, because I _own_ a bird Pokemon, but nothing scares me more than birds." She laughed a little. "And water. Now a _water bird_. That would be terrifying."

Birds? Hadn't she said bird people came and killed us all? WTF?

"Why the sudden fear quiz, Ash?" asked Brock.

Misty looked away pointedly. "He just wants to know mine so he can scare me later."

May's face darkened. "If you unleash that Staraptor on me in the middle of the night I'll hire Misty to beat you to a pulp."

I feigned panic. "No, not Misty! She's ruthless!"

"You bet I am, Ketchum." She brandished her mallet threateningly. I cowered, laughing.

"We already know Misty's fears," Brock pointed out. "Bugs, peppers, and carrots."

There was a moment of silence before Misty cracked the Breeder on the head. "Well don't _tell_ them that!" she cried, distraught.

Drew snickered. "You're scared of bugs?" He pulled out a pokeball playfully. "Masquerain, did you hear that? The lady's scared of you! We should show her just how nice you are, right?"

Misty paled but her eyes still burned furiously. "You're forgetting that I have my mallet, remember?"

"Oh. Never mind, Masquerain, we wouldn't want to scare her." Drew put it back in his bag, readjusted it on his shoulders, and kept walking. His backpack began to slip again.

I shook myself slightly and realized I had lost focus. May's worst fears had been depicted in the hallucination she'd had. My worst fear was in the dream I just had. Was this happening to everyone?

I hated the Sky Cat more and more with each step I took up that freaking mountain. She was messing with my head, and my friends' heads, and my Pokemon's heads. Not okay.

A wild Houndour rushed by in the opposite direction, causing us all to look around wildly. We weren't taking any chances on this mountain.

"Why was it running?" Dawn asked, and still today I'm wondering if she really expected one of us to answer.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Ha," May laughed. She launched into a story. "Troublesome. That reminds me: so, the other day, this kid came up to the Gym to challenge my dad, right? He was shorter than Max, he had _pink_ hair, and bells around his ankles. I took one look at him and wondered if Harley had made a sperm baby."

We started laughing, eager to hear the rest.

"He came into the gym, walked right up to my dad, and said…" She paused, putting on a goofy expression and striking a pose good for supermodels but _not_ for little boys. "'Hi-ee, my name's David, and I challenge you to a Gym battle'."

Chortles of laughter ran through our group.

"So my dad looked at the kid, gaping, and finally said yes, okay? The kid walks to other end of the gym, his feet jingling like Santa's sleigh, and pulls out a piece of paper." May fished in her pocket and pulled out a folded and tattered paper. "He left it on the floor, so I took it."

Max burst out laughing. "Oh Mew, you guys have to hear what this kid said," he chuckled.

May took a deep breath and prepared to read. "Ode to—."

Suddenly the bracelet burned with a searing heat. I spun around to see ahead, already tensing for a fight.

…There was nothing there.

I took a cautious step forward, everyone watching me curiously. I reached out with my hand, preparing to hit the invisible wall. There wasn't one, of course. Why play the same trick twice?

Misty was giving me a funny look. "Ash, what are you—?"

"Sh!" I said abruptly. My ears were straining to hear everything, to pick up a clue on the wind.

The redhead folded her arms angrily and promptly looked away. I felt a small pang at angering her, but I had to focus on our lives. The bracelet had to mean _something_. If danger was approaching, I couldn't let her distract me.

Paul was suddenly next to me. "What is it?" he murmured. His fingers were hovering around his pokeballs, ready.

"I don't know," I replied quietly. "I just know that whatever it is, it's _bad_."

Pikachu jumped off my shoulder, ever adventurous. He glanced around, delicately sniffing the air. "Pika," he called.

"It's safe?" I questioned, interpreting his talk. I glanced down warily at the bracelet. "I don't think so, buddy," I called back.

The little mouse cocked his head to the side innocently. "Pi? Pika!" he insisted, beckoning with his yellow paw.

"Oh, Ash, if Pikachu says it's alright then it's bound to be!" snapped Misty. She stalked forward, walking right into danger. I think she did it just to spite me.

I rushed after her. "Hey, Mist, this isn't a good idea—." I gasped. The sight before me was anything _but_ safe.

I hadn't expected this mountain to be volcanic, and the more I thought about, the more I convinced myself that it _wasn't._ Volcanoes didn't have lava just sitting there like a backyard pool, or Jacuzzi, I should say. They had lava spewing out the top and viscously pouring down the sides.

But there was a pool of lava, bubbling and shooting geysers of hot molten rock and steam into the air like Yellowstone.

I stared at the fire, suddenly at a loss. How were we supposed to cross?

Brock was already looking around, determining a route. "The sides are too steep," he commented. "There's no way we could cross it, unless we had a Pokemon that could do Vine Whip."

May jumped. "But we do!" she exclaimed happily. She plunged her hand into her bag and pulled out a glistening red pokeball. "Venusaur, show us what you got!" The coordinator tossed the ball ecstatically, and in a flash of white light the great Pokemon appeared.

"Vine Whip, Venusaur!" cried May. The creature groaned in response and sent out her vines. They snapped onto the ledge, and we spared ourselves a cheer of victory.

Suddenly, a pillar of magma erupted upwards, directly beneath Venusaur's vines. The Pokemon was forced to let go before her precious vines were incinerated, leaving us once again without a plan.

"Did we happen to pick the worst trail, or are they all like this?" Max wondered.

"Can we fly over?" questioned Dawn. She released her Togekiss curiously. "Togekiss, see if you can fly over the lava. Go as high as you need to."

The Pokemon bounced into the air with a trill of joy, steadily rising higher and higher until I could no longer see it. It hurt my neck trying to look that high. I glanced down and noticed Misty was still looking straight up, a look of sorrow on her face. She had really loved Togepi; it only made sense that she missed it.

Abruptly the water Trainer snapped her gaze away from the sky and glared at me. I jumped at the ferocity of her expression, trying to remember what I did to set her off.

"Well, while Troublesome's lovebird does that," Paul mumbled, his hands around one of his pokeballs, "I'm going to go about this the sane way." He tossed it lazily. "Magmortar, come on."

The giant magma creature appeared with a moan of power. Its canons smoked menacingly, as did the top of its head. I guess the air was a little too humid for it. The beast looked to its master for instruction.

Paul pointed a commanding finger. "See if you can cross," he told it.

Magmortar looked at the lava pit with disinterest. It took a lumbering step forward and dipped its foot in the molten rock. I stared at it (anything to avoid looking at Misty, whose glare was about as hot as the magma), wondering if we had possibly found a way across.

Slowly, the Pokemon blinked stupidly and stepped back out. Paul was instantly furious. "What's the matter?" he asked, fuming. "Can't you go through?"

Magmortar shook its head. It glanced at Pikachu, trying to communicate.

Pikachu met my eyes and molded its face into a respectable replica of Magmortar. After a few "Pika pis" and "Chu chu chas," I got the message.

"It can make it," I explained to Paul, "but the rest of us won't be able to."

Paul glared at his Pokemon, his arms folded disappointedly across his chest. It replied by matching its Trainer's stare, until Paul grew so furious that he returned it to its pokeball and looked ready to chuck it into the lava.

"Hey," Dawn murmured, grabbing his arm. "It did the best it could. At least it's not putting us in danger."

The purple-headed Trainer refused to meet her eyes. He didn't even grunt, but merely slipped his Magmortar back into his pocket. Dawn stepped back, and for a second I thought I saw her eyes flash. Then she blinked and was back to the innocent, clueless girl I knew so well.

The bracelet had stopped burning, but it still made its presence known by giving off a dull warmth. I glanced at it, convinced that the danger it had warned my about was the pit in front us. There was no way around it, as far as we knew.

At that moment, Togekiss floated down from the heavens and landed lightly beside Dawn. She looked at her sadly, and the Pokemon shook her head. "Priii," she said shamefully.

"Oh, that's okay," Dawn assured it. "No need to worry, you did your best." She pulled out her pokeball. "Return, Togekiss."

"Great," said Brock. "We've tried every tactic and nothing works." He let his backpack fall to the ground. "Guess we're sleeping here tonight."

Drew shrugged, which caused his bag to land beside Brock's. Clearly, it frustrated him, but he didn't acknowledge it. "Alright. No need to build a fire, at least." He nodded to the lava.

"Yeah," May agreed. She sat down next to Brock with a sigh. "We can't go forwards." Suddenly, she smiled slyly. "Guys wanna hear what Harley's clone read now?"

"Ooh, yes!" exclaimed Dawn. She was instantly next to May with an expression of a four-year-old about to hear her favorite story. "Tell us tell us tell us!"

I gave the lava one last hopeless look before joining them. Pikachu leaped onto my shoulder with a happy cry. Max dropped to the ground, adjusting his glasses with a smirk worthy of Drew. The little kid knew exactly what was coming.

"Mist, are you gonna listen?" I called over my shoulder.

"No," she snapped. She was still standing at the lava's edge dramatically.

I frowned and shrugged at everyone else. When Misty was pissed, it was best not to mess with her. I'd bug her about it when everyone else was asleep. Which, judging by the time we'd wasted trying to get around the lava pond, would only be a little while longer.

"Suit yourself," May said. She unfolded the paper that contained the words we were all dying to hear. "Ahem. 'Ode to Lady May'."

Drew jumped about a foot in the air. "You didn't say it was about you!" he cried. "What did this little creep say about you? I'll kill him. Where is he? He's a dead little queer, that's for sure."

I had to laugh. "Well, Drew, judging by the title of the poem, he's not a queer." Ha ha. Queer's such a funny word.

May grinned, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. She bit her lip playfully. "Do you wanna hear the rest?"

We all nodded, Drew less enthusiastic than the rest of us.

"Oh, my sweet Lady May, when I see you again, I am your slave, and yours to maim. I'll take your complaints, and sane I'll remain, for you I'm in chains, Lady May."

"Great Arceus," groaned Drew, rolling his eyes. "This kid has some nerve."

"You're just jealous because you could never write anything so poetic," May teased.

"What, so you like poems now?" he snapped, looking more agitated by the second.

"I've always like poetry," she replied. "You're just too oblivious to notice!"

"And they're off," Brock commented. He nudged me, grinning. "Betcha ten bucks Drew will have written her a poem by morning."

I smirked. Even Drew wasn't that desperate. "You're on." Besides, I had half of my profit from the bet I made with Drew left over. It'd work out perfectly if I lost.

As the Drew/May argument escalated into a full scale brawl with encouragement from Max, I decided to focus on Dawn and Paul.

Paul had his book out again (what a _loser_. Seriously!) and was reading avidly. Dawn had scooted next to him, peering over his shoulder. Finally he spoke. "If you're going to flash me again, please give me a warning."

Dawn chuckled. "I'm not going to do that," she laughed. "There's no way I'd grant you the privilege of seeing the twins twice."

Embarrassed, Paul focused even harder on his book. "And they call you innocent," he muttered.

"What are you reading?" asked the blunette. She reached around, trying to turn the book so she could see the cover.

He yanked it away, not looking at her. "It's nothing. Go bother Misty."

Her face flushed angrily. "Is that all you have to say to me?" she said, her voice tight.

"Were you expecting something more?" he growled, meeting her eyes for the first time.

Dawn glared right back at him, neither cowering nor advancing. "I was," she said in a low voice. "But then I remembered what a selfish recluse you are and decided not to set my expectations so high." With that, the young Coordinator pushed off the ground to her feet and marched over to her bag. She began to set up her tent.

"Jeez, Paul," I said, when I was certain no one else was listening.

He looked up from his book with eyes that promised me a slow and painful death. "What." It wasn't even a question.

I gestured to Dawn. "That was cold."

"She's a troublesome idiot," he replied, but his voice was hollow. For some reason, I didn't think he meant it. "She's not worth my time."

"Those are both lies and you know it," said Misty. She had returned from her intense staring of the lava pond and sat down between me and Paul.

Paul scowled at the words on the page of the book. "Go away," he said.

I met Misty's aqua eyes, and gave a tiny nod. We were going double team on Paul. "Why can't you just admit the truth?" I interrogated.

"There is nothing to admit," was the short reply.

"Oh really?" grilled Misty. "Does that mean you're scared of it? Afraid to admit it even to yourself?"

Paul looked up, his expression deadlier than Misty's when she's PMSing and someone else ate all the chocolate. "I am not scared of anything," he said tersely. "And I have nothing to admit." Villainously, his eyes glittered with a new idea. "What about you, Waterflower. Haven't you got something of your own to confess?"

Misty blushed deeper than anyone. In an instant she had grabbed me by the wrist. "C'mon, Ash," she commanded. "Let's leave this self-hating emo to wallow in his own misery." With that, she dragged me away from our circle of people to the shore of the lava lake.

Night was starting to set it. The only way I could tell was the fact that it got colder, and the clouds seemed to grow darker and more menacing. Behind us, Max yawned and May announced he was to go to bed or else she'd skin him alive. The others followed, one by one, calling to us to see if we were going to join them. I blinked, realizing I had probably spent hours sitting next to Misty and staring at a single patch of red magma. I wondered where the time had gone.

I bit my lip nervously, watching the lava bubble as I searched for a conversation topic. "So," I began. "Got something to admit?"

***AN: Wa la. 8 pages of story. Aren't you happy? Ya'll are gonna _luuurve_ the next chapter. Specially you romance lovers out there. After 16 chapters, it will come. Now as soon as I finish it, it shall be published. **

**I love Dawn. Don't all of you? I think she's my favorite girl on the show, but I'd never put her with Ash. So forgive me if I make her a little OOC, but Dawn's gonna be a pretty cool character. I'm soooo tired right now. K bye. Oh, and thanks for reading and reviewing. You all from the last chappie (xDaughter-of-the-Sunx, Mike Prower the Fox, PokeGirlMisty, Amber Ice Fox, and pokemaster101)** **you guys all get some dulce de leche bars. They were REALLY good and all of you who love caramel like air should google the recipe cuz it's AMAZING!***


	17. Finally!

_"Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you, listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why, but listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye" - Roxette "Listen to Your Heart"_

17 Finally!

The look on Misty's face was priceless. She seemed to blanch and blush at the same time, which was probably just the red glow of the lava reflecting onto her cheeks. I grinned, snickering. "Don't worry," I assured her with a clap on the back, causing her to jump. "I've stolen from the cookie jar too."

Misty looked shocked, then started laughing. "Yeah, and Paul never has because he's _so_ innocent."

I shook my head. "Why can't he just admit he likes Dawn and get on with life? I mean, it's so obvious she's in love with him, though I can't imagine why."

When I looked over at Misty, a sly smirk was playing on her lips. "I know why she likes him," she said. "He's powerful, sexy, and mysterious. Girls love that kind of stuff."

I chuckled uncertainly. "Then I guess I'll need to be more mysterious," I laughed. "Otherwise I'll never get a girl."

"Yeah, because you're dark and sexy, right?" Misty said, grinning.

I leaned into her playfully. "You know it," I whispered. Had I whispered like that to any other girl, they would have melted right there. Misty was stronger, and I loved that about her.

Misty was smiling, but her cheeks were extremely red. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Ash flirting was a danger zone, apparently. "So I was thinking about how to get across this pit, and I decided that if I used Starmie's Ice Beam and froze the lava, we could… get… across." Her speech slowed down when she met my eyes.

"Something wrong?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.

She blinked. "N-no. Nothing's wrong."

"That's a lie," I said instantly.

Misty, as expected, went red with fury. "Well, Ketchum, if you're so good at reading me, why do we even talk, hm?" She stood, outraged, and prepared to stalk off.

I grabbed her arm before she could go. "No, stay, please?" I begged. "I… I have something to admit."

This caught her off guard. She sat down, curious.

Suddenly nervous, I took a shuddering breath. "You know why I hate talking about Cináed?"

Misty shrugged. "He left and you never knew him, right?"

I did that weird semi-nod (you all know what I mean). "Kinda. It's mostly because, well, yeah, I never met him. But my mom always told me that he said he loved her, wanted to marry her and everything. Then he got her pregnant and left. I hate the fact that someone did that to her, destroyed her like that. He didn't even stick around to see me be born."

I focused on the bubbling of the lava. Misty's face was not something I wanted to see. Absentmindedly I fiddled with that stupid bracelet.

"Hey," she began. I looked up, attentive. "If Cináed means fire, like you said, and that bracelet—," she pointed, "gives you the power of fire, does that mean the bracelet has some connection to your dad?"

I smiled sarcastically at her, causing her to laugh. "Yeah, okay, I know it's a long shot, but maybe," she giggled.

I laughed along with her, leaning back to look up at the swirling clouds. It smelled like rain again. Maybe the rain would put out the lava. And maybe Paul would grow a pair and fess up to Dawn. "Hey," I said, copying Misty's wonderful conversation opening, "how can Paul be so coldhearted when Reggie is the nicest guy in town?"

"Hm," she replied. "Well, I've never met Reggie, and I don't even know what you're talking about, so…"

"Paul and Reggie are brothers," I explained.

"Ah," said Misty. "That makes more sense. That was a very good question, Ash, and to be honest, I don't know."

I sat up and nudged her playfully. "You still don't know what I'm talking about," I chortled.

Misty's perfect lips split into a grin as she shoved right back. I suddenly felt impulsive. Not like how I felt at the castle, but like my brain had suddenly forgotten the difference between thinking and speaking and my thoughts just ran right out my mouth.

I said, "Would it be weird if I kissed you?"

Misty's smile disappeared, and she stared intently at the tiny pebble that was resting in front of her. Looked like she was debating whether to kick it into the magma pool or just let it be. "A little bit," she said, sounding strangled.

Suddenly, I grasped what I had just said. Had I really just suggested I _kiss_ Misty? Was I losing it? It was the mountain, for sure. Making me say things that I wouldn't normally say at a regular altitude. How do you recover after you say something like that? I had no idea, and wound up saying, "Oh." Yeah, real smooth, I know.

"Just," Misty said quickly, "a little." She raised her head, and those beautiful aqua eyes met mine. I couldn't look away. It was hypnotizing. I felt tingly all over, nervous, and I hadn't even kissed her yet. I must've stayed like that for too long because Misty sighed and looked away. "I mean, you know, we… we really shouldn't because… we _don't_ feel that way about each other, and… I'm just… not pretty enough for you and you're so…"

Well, that was enough initiative for me. Not pretty enough? What was she _smoking?_ Before she could utter another word, I had clasped my hand around her arm and put the other around her face so she was turned towards me. "Don't ever," I whispered, "think you're not good enough, because you _are_. You're more than I deserve and more than any man on this planet deserves. And now I'm going to kiss you, to show you that, and after that… well, I haven't planned that far."

She looked at me, blinking eyes that shone like the ocean. I stopped waiting for a response and leaned forward, inwardly praying that I landed on her lips.

I guess I hit my target, because she seemed to be kissing me back. If not, then she was _really_ good at wiggling her nose. I wasn't sure what to do; we just kinda stayed there with our lips stuck to each other. I was enjoying it, of course, but it seemed like there should have been something more.

Misty pulled back first. "Well," she choked, "that was… different."

"Uh huh," I agreed. My cheeks felt redder than the lava. "I guess I'm not very good at it."

"I have just as much experience," she assured me.

I hesitated. "But in movies, it always looks so much more…"

"Passionate?" she supplied.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "And professional. Like they know exactly what the other person is going to do."

She remained silent for a moment. Finally she said, "You only got my upper lip, Ketchum."

I felt myself blush even harder. "Whoops," I said. "Guess I'll have to try again." Immediately, I regretted saying it. Stupid, stupid Ash! Why would you suggest doing it again when she _clearly_ didn't enjoy it? Your friendship is ruined, and you've lost your best friend because she didn't return your feelings. Stupid, idiotic Ash!

Slowly, she started laughing. "Great follow-up, by the way," Misty snickered.

"Well how am I supposed to come back after such a terrible kiss?" I question, slightly frustrated.

Misty shifted her body position so she was facing me, yet she kept her eyes trained on the ground. Desperate for distraction, she rapped her fingers across the back of my hand. "I don't know. Usually in movies they kiss again because they enjoyed it so much."

"Yeah, but should we really go off Hollywood?" I laughed nervously, since I was inclined to believe kissing again would be… amazing. I wanted to push her lush red hair behind her ear. And it was _so_ tempting. Like its color.

She flicked her eyes up, glaring faintly. "It's Hollywood or May and Drew."

I shuddered sarcastically. "What terrible choices."

Misty fidgeted a little. Like she was impatient. She squirmed like a Caterpie, nervous and anxious.

Impulsively, I grabbed her by shoulders. "Would you hold still a minute?" I laughed, and then, I don't know _why_ I did it, but I kissed her again.

Misty the Caterpie suddenly evolved into a Metapod, stiff and rigid. I felt her tense at my touch, and this time I was sure I had landed on both her lips. Another moment and she became a Butterfree, breaking free of her nerves and wrapping her delicate arms (that's a lie. Her arms aren't delicate. They're really muscle-y and something I wouldn't want to be punched by) around my neck.

We broke apart for a sighing breath and then were right back on it. I felt her fingers curl into my hair and pull slightly, and it felt amazing. I entwined my fingers in her lush red mane, feeling her soft scalp beneath it all. My other arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. Our chests touched warmly, sending another electric spark through us.

Breathless, we pulled away and stared into each other's dancing eyes. Our cheeks were pink and warm, and we giggled nervously.

"About time!" someone called.

We twisted to see Brock, May, Drew, and Dawn all sitting up and watching us. Brock rolled his eyes (supposedly). "We knew it was coming for, what, how long?"

"Six years," May supplied. She was sitting cross legged and rocking back and forth, evidently bored. Her shirt was still rolled up from where she had been fiddling with her bandaged stomach. "We've been sitting here for a while, too, and Brock wouldn't let us talk."

"May, if you'd talked, they would've heard us and we never would have witnessed their two magical kissed," Drew said, rolling his eyes (Now, we can see _his_ eyes). "By the way Ash, that was pretty smooth."

The blood couldn't get to my cheeks fast enough. I glanced at Misty and saw she was redder than cherries. Yet even in such a state, she was quick. "Are you guys really so deprived that you have to watch _our_ sensual life instead of living your own?"

Caught, Brock shrugged. "Well, you know how the Jenny and Joys are," he laughed.

"I wanted to record it," Drew said nonchalantly, "but my phone wouldn't turn on." He pulled it out and pushed a few buttons before showing us a black screen. "See?"

I sent a silent prayer of thanks to God, Arceus, Mew, all of them. I would have died if Drew had recorded that on his phone.

"May and I were playing Tic-Tac-Toe in the dirt," Dawn told us. She waved a stick in the air and gestured to the dirt, where squares had been drawn along with X's and O's. "She won."

I didn't think it was possible to win at Tic-Tac-Toe, due to the fact that it's such a stupid game, but I guess with Dawn, it's a whole other story.

"Great, are you done peeping on us?" Misty spat. She grabbed my wrist, as if hoping I would back her up.

I cleared my throat and said something like, "Erm, yeah."

They all started laughing, causing Paul and Max to stir in their slumber. "Look, why don't you two lovebirds come to bed and we'll talk about this later, okay?" Brock chuckled.

After a few more daring accusations of the four of them being perverts and similar things, Misty and I unrolled our sleeping bags (right next to each other. o_0 Yeah, we're _so_ naughty) and crawled inside. We endured a brief round of kissing noises from our peep group before they got bored and went to sleep.

Misty and I stayed up all night, whispering about anything we could think of while our cheeks reddened. We were nervous about kissing again, yet impatient as well. When we fell asleep, which I don't remember doing, I woke up with our hands interlocked. I smiled and fell back into a blissful sleep.

***AN: So, I'm done with all my important EOCs, so I updated really fast for you guys. And you're welcome, romance lovers! I'm sorry it took so long, but I hate it when my stories revolve around romance. It's too easy of a topic. I can't wait to get to summer! I'll be updating every other day, probably. So, be sure to review, folks! Reviews are loved similar to the way milk chocolate is. Which is a frickin' lot.* **


	18. Fighting With Drew

_"So what if you can see, the darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become! Help me believe, it's not the real me, somebody help me tame this animal I have become!" - Three Days Grace "Animal I Have Become" _

18 Fighting With Drew

The boy sat down, twirling a pokeball on his pointer finger. He had gotten rather good at it in the years he'd been trapped. The ball contained his Poliwhirl, and he had a feeling the Pokemon was enjoying being spun around.

"Pika?" asked the little yellow mouse at his feet.

Smiling sadly, the boy reached down and rubbed his best friend's head. "I know, Pika. But we'll get out."

For the millionth time, the boy remembered how his life had been stolen away from him. He had been plucked right out of Kanto, like a berry. One moment he was about to catch that Beedrill, and the next he was in this endless meadow. And he was _bored._

"Hey Red!" called a voice.

Red turned his head lazily to see an orange-haired boy jogging towards him. He blinked as he looked up at him, the sunlight a little too bright. "Yeah, Blue?" he asked, hopeless.

Blue began emptying his pockets, depositing a store of berries and crackers at his friend's feet before sitting down next to him. "We eat like kings today," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

His friend shook his head. "I am _so_ sick of being here." Red glanced over at the Espeon that sauntered up. Before his eyes it writhed and devolved into an Eevee. "That stupid sky cat screwed up Vui," he growled.

Blue took a bite of the saltine cracker. "So? I was taken from my Gym. I had so much going for me back home. Why did I have to be taken and put in here with you?"

Red was past arguing with his rival. "Because karma's out to get you." He looked around, and sighed in relief. "I keep expecting Leaf to show up here, but thank God she never does."

Chewing, Blue shrugged. "I dunno. It might be entertaining to have a girl around," he said nonchalantly.

"I think your mind has gotten dirtier the longer we've been here," Red commented.

Blue smirked. "There's nothing better to do. You could make a joke every once in a while."

"Oh, I could, could I?" Red snapped. "About what? The flowers? Oh, oh, Blue, why don't you go _deflower_ that patch of ground over there? I want an experienced piece of grass for the next time we eat."

His friend clapped him on the back. "Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" he laughed.

Pika looked at Red quizzically, not understanding. Red shook his head and said, "I'll tell you later."

"Hey, do you want to make a bet?" Blue asked. Obviously he was bored out of his mind.

Red glanced at him, exasperated. "Sure," he conceded. "What is it?"

"If we get out of here, you have to buy me a strawberry—no, I'm sick of berries—an Oreo milkshake every day of the week for the next two years," Blue proposed.

"And if we don't?" Red sighed.

"Then I'll play chess with you every day for the rest of our lives," he said.

Red brightened at this. He smiled, victorious. "Well, we're still here. I win. Get the chessboard."

Blue's grin faltered. "Hey, that's not—."

"You didn't put a time limit," Red pointed out, reaching for his backpack. He pulled out a notebook that a chessboard had been carefully drawn on. "So, until we get out, I've won the bet." He then grabbed a variety of knickknacks from the bottom of the bag as the chess pieces. "Black or white?"

Realizing the flaw in his plan, Blue sighed in defeat. "White," he chose.

*********************************************************WEE PARAGRAPH BREAK!**********************************************************

Morning came, waking us up with an explosion from the lava pit. Great alarm clock, that nature. Next time we'll be woken up with an earthquake, you just wait and see.

"Look at this!" Brock called. He was sitting near the shore of the lava with a marshmallow on a stick. "Smores for breakfast!"

"Yeah!" Max, Dawn, and May cheered. They raced to Brock, hounding him for his tasty treats…. Oh, you guys are sick. Get your minds out of the gutter already, jeez!

My stomach growled, so I went to join the dog pack that waited patiently for Brock to hand out treats. I met Misty's eyes, and an awkward silence passed between us. Finally, she cleared her throat. "I'm hungry," she said.

"Yeah, me too," I agreed, stomach growling again as if to confirm. "C'mon, the smores are waiting."

I held out my hand for an instant, then remembered she probably wouldn't take it in front of people. I hastily turned my outstretched arm into a swinging dead weight, hoping no one had seen my attempt of a PDA (public display of affection, for all you home schooled kids out there).

Drew, of course, did, and he was now fighting the urge to laugh at me. I blushed and gave him the death glare, something I had learned from Misty. Drew didn't exactly cower as he did when Misty death-glared him, but he did leave us alone.

Misty noticed me death-glaring and joined me in staring down Drew. While she was at it, Misty decided to get all her glaring done for the morning. Even though Paul hadn't done anything, she death-glared him to get it out of the way because she would most likely find a reason to glare at him later. Preemptive glaring, I guess. Paul recoiled and remained his silent, emo self, watching us with dark eyes that glittered horrifically. Dawn would kill me if she heard me describing Paul like that.

"So, any new ideas as to how we'll get across?" Brock called. Everyone had now received a smore, save for me and Misty. We glared at Brock demandingly, our hands open and waiting.

Brock smirked. "Will one be enough for the two of you?" he mocked. "Or does spaghetti sound better?"

Misty smacked him upside the head. "Can it, Breeder," she snapped. "I'll turn _you_ into spaghetti."

"Whoa, Misty, why so cold?" asked Max.

No one answered when they saw Misty's face. May looked at me questioningly, but I just blushed and looked away.

"So!" Drew said to break the silence. "How are we going to cross the lava pit?"

"Why don't we throw you in first so you can tell us if it's safe?" May snapped, giving him a shove. I blinked, wondering what had brought on this sudden violence. My glance at Drew was returned with a roll of his emerald eyes, and that was all the information I got on the situation.

Misty's mentality was anything to change the subject. She pulled out a pokeball. "Starmie knows Ice Beam, so maybe it can help us." She was just about to throw it when another ball opened from her bag.

The light illuminated our surroundings for a brief moment. Blinking away spots, I looked at the Pokemon that had escaped Misty's ball.

It wasn't Starmie.

Misty flailed in frustration. "PSYDUCK!" she screamed. "What the hell you stupid duck get back in your _ball!_"

The little yellow duck held its head as if trying to keep it from exploding. "Psy?" it asked stupidly.

Laughter spread throughout our group as Misty turned steadily redder. The Psyduck gazed at its master hopefully, as if expecting a pat on the head.

Misty whacked it with her mallet, probably not what it was hoping for. "You stupid duck!" she yelled at it.

"Psy-eeyai-eeyai!" it cried, wincing painfully.

"Oh, be nice to it," Dawn told her. She reached down and hugged Psyduck, her expression full of sympathy. "It can't do everything you ask of it."

Not to be mean or anything, but I could see why Dawn was sympathizing the idiotic duck. They were remarkably similar.

Misty rolled her eyes and unleashed her Starmie. The Pokemon appeared with a threatening "Hiya!" and tensed for battle. It looked confused (I run into the same problem with the Starmie that I have with Brock. No eyes to tell me what's going on in the head) when it saw (? Again, no eyes) there was no opponent.

"Starmie, Ice Beam on the lava," Misty commanded. She gestured to the pit with her finger, the authority of being a Gym Leader showing through.

The Pokemon perked up and sent out the attack. A blue light flashed from Starmie's central gem, almost blinding. It hit the lava, splashing it up.

It took a while, but after Starmie was exhausted beyond all reason, we were able to look at a new piece of black ground, unevenly set out before us, and still smoking. It worked.

"Woo!" cried Dawn. She leapt into the air and landed on the rock that used to be lava. "C'mon, everyone, let's go! _Vaminos!_"

Paul groaned and rolled his eyes. "Troublesome," he muttered.

As we paraded across the hardened lava pit, Misty seemed to avoid me. I felt slightly hurt by this, but whatever. I wasn't going to hold her hand or something in front of everyone. Obviously she didn't trust me. I shrugged this off as best I could and dropped back to chat with Drew.

His backpack was falling off again, and he was immensely frustrated by it. Everyone else was ahead of him, paying him no attention. "Hey," I began. "What's up May's butt?"

He focused on the strap tightening thing of his bag and shrugged. "I don't know," he said in a low voice. "Maybe seeing you with Misty pissed her off."

I pondered this for a moment, wondering if it could really be true. Then I shook my head, mentally chastising myself for being such an idiot. "It's not me she's mad at," I reminded him. _Heh,_ I thought._ Try and worm your way out of _that_ one, Drew._

Drew's bag slipped suddenly, though I think he did it on purpose to avoid answering. He stooped down to pick it up, huffed as he adjusted it on his shoulders, and looked promptly ahead.

"Drew, what did you do to her?" I pressed.

"Piss off, Ketchum," he snapped.

I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, is little Drewy throwing a temper tantrum?" I teased. He glared at me. I smiled and said, "I'm not going to stop until you tell me."

Drew looked intently at the ground. "I, uh, tried to write her a poem," he said, so quietly I barely heard it.

"You WHAT?" I yelled. It echoed around the mountain and caused everyone ahead of us to look around with concern.

Drew started counting pebbles on the path in order to hide his blush. "Not so loud, dammit!" he hissed.

I groaned and kicked the nearest rock as hard as I could. Unfortunately, the rock was heavier than I expected and gave me a sore toe instead of anger relief. "Whatever you do, don't tell Brock," I warned.

"I wasn't planning on—." He paused. "Why Brock specifically?"

"Because if he finds out I'll owe him ten bucks!" I cried as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

Drew expression of confusion melted into one of rage. "You bet on whether or not I would… yeah. You _bet_ on it?" he screamed as quietly as he could.

I shrugged, not understanding his anger. "Yeah, we were bored and I had ten bucks to spare. So what? Weren't you guys all betting on when Misty and I would get together?" I pointed out. I know this for a fact because one time I walked in on May, Drew, Brock, and Max all putting money on a table and saying, "Two years." "No, I say six months." "Next week." "I say never because Ash and Misty are too afraid of their own feelings to admit them to each other."

Yeah, I wasn't happy when I walked in on that. I mean, I would rather walk in on Brock making out with Paul, and I do NOT want to see that for as long as I live, and past my death too.

By the way, I think my mom won that bet.

Drew muttered something about hating a fair fight. "Fine. I wrote her a poem and she didn't like it. End of story, okay?"

I let out a whistle. "You mean she thought the 'Lady May' poem was sweet and she hated yours? Damn, that sucks, man." Suddenly I was excited. "How bad was it? Can I read it?"

"What? No, of course not you idiot! Why would I let you read something like—HEY!"

I pulled Drew's bag off his back and ran ahead of him, plunging my hands into the pockets as I went. His hand looped into the handle of my own backpack, pulling me back. "Give me that, or I'm going to kill you."

"Let me read it, and I will," I bargained.

Drew scowled. "Fine!" He snatched the bag out of my hands and kept walking.

I followed him, pestering. "Hey, aren't you going to let me read it?"

"No, you imbecile why in the name of Arceus would I let you read it?" he yelled.

"You'll let me read it or I'm going to run up there and yell that you wrote May a love poem," I threatened.

Drew snorted. "No you won't, because if you do you'll lose ten bucks," he replied.

I hesitated before I decided I didn't care. "So what? You'll be humiliated beyond all reason and everyone will tease you for eternity."

He looked at me with desperate eyes, aware that he had no alternative. "I hate you," he said childishly, and he thrust the paper into my hands.

I read it over greedily. No offense to Drew, but I could see why May hated it. It was super terrible. Like, I could do better than what he wrote.

It was short, so I memorized it before he took it from my fingers. This is what it said:

_May, oh May oh_

_For you I would stoop as low _

_As shaving my head _

_If it got you in bed _

_With thoughts of me _

_In your dreams _

I don't think he meant it as sexual, but it really came over like that. Now, I felt bad for him, I really did! But… this was a golden opportunity to make fun of him, and guys never miss a chance to mess with other guys.

"'_If it got you in bed_'?" I quoted. "Really Drew? How was she supposed to take that?" I looked ahead. "Hey Paul!"

Drew jumped and clamped his hand over my mouth. "What do you think you're doing?" he whispered. "Don't tell Paul!"

Paul looked around lazily. Instead of coming back to join us, he stood and waited for us to catch up to him. "What," he snapped.

"If Drew said he would shave his head to get a girl in bed, how do you think she would take it?" I asked. Drew was flushing through shades of red I didn't even know existed.

Puzzled, Paul cast a wary glance at Drew. "You said that to May?" he questioned.

"No! I didn't mean it like that, I swear!" he said hurriedly.

"How else _could_ you mean it?" Paul replied. "Girls believe that all guys think about is sex. In some cases, like you and Brock, that's true."

"It is _not!_" Drew cried. He rounded on me. "You are dead, do you hear me? I'm going to get you in your sleep!"

"Don't shave my head," I laughed.

"Pika pi," said Pikachu, sweat dropping comically.

This made our green haired friend even angrier. "Even the Pokemon have turned against me!" he exclaimed.

"What's the matter, Drew?" asked Brock. He had dropped back to join us. "Losing your cool?"

I swear, if Dawn hadn't joined our group Drew would have punched Brock silly. "Drew, why are you upset?" she questioned, genuine worry showing in her voice.

"Go away, Troublesome," Paul snapped. "You'll only get in the way."

Dawn went red in the face. She was about to say something just as cruel when Max popped up. "I want to read the poem, Drew. Please?"

Drew's eyes went wide. "How do you know about the poem, shorty?"

Max stood up a little straighter. "I am _not_ short, you're just Goliath. Now let me read the poem you wrote my sister."

"Whoa, Drew wrote May a poem?" said Misty. She had decided to forget her embarrassment about me and entered the conversation. "I want to see it!"

"Absolutely not!" yelled Drew.

"That's okay, I have it memorized," I offered.

Misty, Dawn, and Max all crowded around as I prepared to recite the poem. I got the first "May" out before Drew socked me in the face.

I felt my jaw snap out of place and then snap back in. The force of the hit sent me careening backwards, only to be caught by Misty and Dawn. "Frickin' Mew, Drew, what was that for?" I yelled.

"I don't want them to hear it!" Drew said, matching my volume. "May already hates me enough for it and I don't need them teasing me about it too!"

We were all silent, until Brock said, "Okay. Ash, pay up."

Grumbling, I fished the crumpled ten out of my pocket and placed it in Brock's open palm. Still rubbing my sore jaw, I cast a glare at Drew and proceeded to catch up with May.

May was walking far ahead of the rest of us, not interested in the conversation behind her. I didn't want to talk to her or Drew, so I decided to hover in the middle. With Misty (yay!).

"Hi," she said, avoiding my eyes.

I hated how awkward our conversation was going to be. "Sup?" I asked.

Misty shrugged. Our shoulders were touching as we walked side by side. Max and Brock were chuckling about it behind us, Brock filling the younger Trainer in on what had happened between Misty and me. By the end of the day I was sure the whole mountain would know.

I started to tinker with the bracelet out of sheer boredom. Misty wasn't talking, and I couldn't find a good conversation topic. So it was me and the bracelet, like so many times before.

I traced my finger across its dull surface, imagining flames etched into the bronze. Briefly, I wondered what the bracelet would look like in full sunlight. Blindingly beautiful, for sure.

The clouds above swirled, heavy with rain. The wind picked up, chilling my exposed skin and pulling my hair. I jumped, focusing on the bracelet. I hadn't noticed it before it got cold, but it was radiating a slight heat. The area it covered on my wrist was barely warmer than the rest of me.

I think I was educated enough through experience to know what the bracelet warming meant.

***AN: Yes, I brought in Red and Blue. They're just going to be a side story, not much. Like how terrible Drew's poem was? Thought you would! So, I'm starting another Pokemon story, but I'm hoping to actually finish it before I publish it. It's more about Pokemon than the people, but it'll still have our favorite canon characters. **

**I put songs at the beginning of the chapters of this story, right? All of you have noticed, I'm sure. I need some good songs. I know a lot of good songs, but they don't suit the story very well. So if you know any songs that would work with this story that are absolutely amazing, please tell me about them! I'm always on the lookout for good songs.*  
**


	19. Cat Fight

_"Sometimes, that mountain you've been climbing, is just a grain of sand. What you've been out there, searching for forever, is in your hands. When you figure out love is all that matters after all, it sure makes everything else, seem so small" - Carrie Underwood "So Small"_

19 Cat Fight

Jessie blinked awake, shivering in the cold. Clouds hid the sun from her, and a single fat raindrop hit her in the face. She tried to breathe deeply, but pain in her chest prevented her from doing so. She began taking shallow breaths to ease the pain. "James?" she whispered.

Over to her right, James was lying in the dirt, face down. His body was blackened and burned, and only the slight rise of his back told her he was still alive.

"Meowth?" she called, searching for their cat companion.

"Jessie!" he cried, scampering over to her. "Oh, tank goodness you're alright! I was so scared dat I'd killed ya for sure!" He held up his paws, and Jessie blinked in confusion when she saw the claws were gone. "I rubbed my claws down so I couldn't hurt ya any more, I promise!"

Jessie looked around at the destruction around her. Their prize balloon was in tatters, spread around the mountain. Clouds seemed to surround them on all sides. "_You_ did this, Meowth?" she asked.

Sadly, the cat nodded. "I didn't mean to, Jessie! I swear it! I… I tink I was being _controlled_."

This was too much. Jessie sighed, and winced painfully. Evidently she had some broken ribs. "Where are we?" she continued.

"Dat mountain da twoips were headed for. We crashed."

She glanced over at James. "Is he okay?" she said, worry clouding her eyes.

Meowth shrugged. "I don't know, Jessie. I just don't know."

********************************************Went to the Carrie Underwood concert the other night***********************************************

Suicune jumped lithely over the rocks, flying up the mountain with agility and speed. The wind that blew behind him helped to carry him up the ragged peak, to where his mother waited.

He gave a final leap and landed at the mouth of the cave, dark and yawning. Suicune glanced up. The clouds swirled around the moon, like the eye of the storm. The moon glowed, soft and bright, over Yacaeli's mountain.

Yacaeli herself emerged from the cave. She looked sadly at her precious moon, forever apart. "Yes, Suicune?" she asked. Pain sounded in her voice, and it was with great effort that she looked away from the sky.

Suicune took a daring step forward. "Mother, I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "I'm sick inside. The water I touch turns murky and gray. If I pass through a town, a horrid winter ensues. Something is wrong with me. I must stop betraying my father for you."

His mother blinked, her expression bewildered. Another moment and it had melted into a compassionate smile. "Of course, my child. I understand."

The great Pokemon stared at her, utterly confused. "You do?" he asked.

Yacaeli twirled around him affectionately, rubbing her face against his in a motherly fashion. "Absolutely. I thought this might happen sooner or later."

Suicune let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Thank you, Mother Yacaeli. I knew you would understand."

"However," she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "I can't let you go _back_ to Arceus knowing you could tell him every secret we've shared."

Suicune stiffened. "Mother—."

Her tail flicked across his mouth, silencing him. "And then, if I can't let _that_ happen, then I can't even afford to let you leave this mountain!" She spoke as if it were a humorous anecdote instead of her son's death sentence. "Funny, isn't it?"

Suicune was trembling now. "No, Mother, please, don't. I… I take back what I said. Please forgive me; I'll never cross you again."

Yacaeli gave him a sad smile. "I'm terribly sorry, Suicune, but once a traitor, always a traitor." Her eyes glittered villainously as she curled her tail around her son. "I'm not going to kill you," she whispered.

Suicune visibly relaxed. Suddenly his muscles felt tired. His eyes drooped slightly, wanting to succumb into blissful sleep.

Suddenly, Suicune jumped. "No," he said in a strangled voice. He fought the exhaustion, but it was a losing battle.

"Yes," Yacaeli hissed.

The water Pokemon's legs buckled beneath him, his weight suddenly more than he could bear. Suicune fought off a yawn, his limbs shaking from fatigue. He couldn't battle the need for sleep, and finally was dragged into its sweet embrace.

Yacaeli smirked at his sleeping form, gently swiping her tail across his muzzle. His dreams would not be peaceful. She would make sure of that.

*************************************************She's amazing live. Seriously, go see her.***************************************************

Drew had wound up walking next to May, and the two had struck up an argument about his poem. I guess this was a good sign, because it meant May was talking to him again.

A few drops of rain fell from the sky, but not enough to send us running for shelter. Just one drop over here, two over there. Extremely sparse rain. It was really weird, now that I think about it. Should have seen it coming way before it did.

Brock, Max, and Paul were behind us, having a conversation (meaning Brock and Max talked while Paul walked next to them in a stony silence). May and Drew bickered in front of us, and Dawn fell into step next to us. "Hey!" she said cheerily.

We looked up at her, unable to fathom why she was so happy. "Hey," Misty replied, not nearly as enthusiastic.

Dawn didn't seem to notice. She skipped alongside us, bubbly as ever. "So the other day, I was with my mom, and we were shopping in Veilstone, right? And I saw the _cutest_ dress in the world in their department store. It had little diamonds stitched into the skirt and these polka dots on the chest and it was just _so_ adorable. I'm thinking that when I get back, I'll buy it for my next Contest and make one to match Piplup, too. Wouldn't that be cute?"

I shrugged. "I suppose."

Misty, on the other hand, wasn't nice about it at all. "I don't care, Dawn," she snapped. "I don't do Contests. And how can you even think of your Coordinating when we could be in mortal danger, hm? I can't believe how hollow your head is!"

I stared at Misty, mortified. Did she really just tell off Dawn? Dawn, who was more innocent than _Max_ and always walked around with a smile. "Um, Misty, that was a little harsh," I said softly.

She spun around, scowling. "And who asked your opinion about that?" she growled.

I looked over at Dawn. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, but I didn't see any tears falling. Just a few fat raindrops here and there. "Sorry," she said in a hoarse voice. "I'm just so stupid and hollow-headed that I just _forget_ important things like that. I can't believe that I'm dim enough to go around _happy_ and saying _nice things_ about people when they really don't deserve it."

Uh oh. I had seen Dawn blow up a few times, like when Paul couldn't remember who she was, but this was looking like a whole new level of rage. "Hey, guys, why don't we just—?"

Misty yanked on my shirt to shut me up. "No," she said levelly. "Let's hear what our preppy young friend has to say."

Had this fight been a long time coming? When could they have _possibly_ been around each other long enough to grow such hatred towards each other? I backed away slowly, falling into rank with Paul, Brock, and Max. They had fallen silent to watch the fight. The heat in the bracelet was slowly growing.

"What's the matter?" Misty taunted. "Cat got your tongue, cheerleader?"

Dawn let out a low hiss. My jaw dropped. What the hell were they doing?

Our group had stopped walking. May and Drew up ahead had turned around to see what was going on. Misty and Dawn began to circle each other, like cats before a fight.

Dawn lashed out, her words harsher than any attack. "You know what, runt? I figured out why you put down everyone you ever meet."

Misty was on the defense. "Oh? And why's that, slut?"

I could practically see the fur flying. "You're a scared little girl inside that ugly, tough exterior," she growled. "If you hurt them first, they won't hurt you, right?" Dawn let out a cackling laugh. "Shame, because for the longest time, it was _working_, wasn't it? That's why you became a Trainer, so you could show the whole world just how _tough_ you are."

Misty narrowed her eyes at the blunette. "You think so?" she said venomously. "You're too weak and fragile to even consider Training. You're Pokemon have so much potential, but because you're such a self-obsessed bitch who's afraid even lifting a fingernail will mess up her hair, they'll never unlock their true selves. You're slowing creating an army of Dawns, preppy cheerleaders that would kill for a cute bra."

This just made Dawn smile evilly. "That's the best you could do? Misty, queen of comebacks, can't do any better?"

"You have cotton for brains," Misty snarled. "Training was too much, school wasn't even fathomable, so you had to rely on appearances to get you through life."

Dawn gave a careless flip of her hair. "Look how far it's got me," she said.

"Five measly Contest ribbons and madly in love with a guy who's even more selfish than you," Misty laughed. "Yeah, I should've gone your route."

"At least he has some intelligence," snapped Dawn. "Yours could turn into a vegetable and no one would know the difference."

I winced. "Ow," I said.

"I agree, that was cruel," said Paul. He had a weird expression on his face, like he could either kill Misty for insulting him or kiss Dawn for defending him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max tug on Brock's sleeve. Silently, he pointed up the face of the mountain. Brock followed his gaze, but evidently saw nothing.

Max scowled, confused. He pulled off his glasses and wiped them thoroughly with the hem of his shirt before placing them back on his face. Again, he narrowed his eyes in puzzlement.

A memory suddenly flashed through my mind: Max broke his glasses. We bought him new ones. On the mountain he claimed to have seen Yacaeli. Was he seeing things the rest of us couldn't?

I stepped over next to him and knelt down to his level. "Are you seeing things?" I asked.

"Yes, and I'm _not_ imagining them," he retorted. He pointed a tiny finger at the same place he had shown Brock. "I swear to Arceus there's a lion with wings sitting on that ledge, and I'm certain it's Yacaeli." He then held out his hand, palm up. A fat rain drop splattered in his open palm. "This rain isn't natural," he murmured. "She's done something to it. I don't know _what_ but it can't be good."

I was glad we had Max to interpret all the little things for us. With a glance over at Misty and Dawn, I saw that he was right. The majority of the raindrops seemed to land on or around them, splattering heavily. Every time one fell, the two girls exchanged another vicious set of words. Their muscles were quivering, ready to fight.

Misty did _not_ look like someone I wanted to say I had a relationship with at the moment. Her face was livid with rage, beet red in the cheeks and screwed up into a sneer. Dawn, on the other hand, came over with a bad-ass secret-agent-woman look. This observation only made me feel worse, and I immediately went back to thinking about the rain.

The bracelet wouldn't be any good. The rain would put it out. Damn it, Yacaeli was clever. There had to be a way around it. Yacaeli could control dreams, which would make her a psychic Type, right? And psychic was weak against…?

I silently cursed myself and my suddenly forgetful brain. I _never _had this problem, remembering everything from the Pokemon I had stored with Oak to the day of the week I got Pikachu. And _yet,_ here I was, incapable of recalling the weakness of psychic Types. I couldn't believe it.

Muttering angrily, I whipped out my handy dandy Pokedex and pressed the power button. Nothing happened. The screen remained black. I pushed it again, and then multiple times in rapid succession, and it still didn't turn on.

I had a feeling that Yacaeli was laughing her head off at me.

A loud crack made me look up from my Pokedex.

Dawn let out a scream of fury and pain as she sank to the ground. Misty stood over her, victorious. She wiped a small stream of blood away from her nose as she looked down at Dawn. "What did you just call me?" she shrieked.

Tears of pain and rage ran down Dawn's cheeks. She clutched her arm, trying hard not to whimper. My eyes widened in horror as I gazed at her. Her left arm was bent out at an awkward angle, and her elbow appeared to be on backwards.

"Holy Mew," Brock swore. "Misty just broke Dawn's arm."

Time to intervene.

I sprinted forward and hooked my arms under Misty's, digging my feet into the ground. "Calm down," I growled.

She was fighting me. I couldn't hold her alone. Brock appeared at my side. He stepped in front of Misty, blocking her. Together we were able to hold her down (even Misty wasn't stronger than a full grown and a half grown man).

Dawn, however, wasn't done. She lunged, attempting to yank Brock off of Misty so they could continue to fight. Drew and May swooped in, grabbing her around the waist and—after she screamed in pain when May touched her arm—neck.

The rain was still falling, but in larger drops. I looked up and one landed on my face, and it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of water on my head.

Wait… water.

Water Types were weak to electric Types. Yacaeli was part water.

There wasn't any time to delay. "Pikachu!" I yelled. I sacrificed an arm to point at the ledge above us. "Thunderbolt!"

*********************************************She is so good live. I didn't love Carrie Underwood until that night*************************************

Yacaeli laughed at the pathetic humans. After the betrayal of her loyal son, she needed something to entertain her. The humans listened incredibly well. Their impulse to fight was far greater than it was in any Pokemon. Perhaps that was why they caught the creatures to do their bidding for them.

The black haired boy, the one with the bracelet, pulled an electronic device from his pocket. This made the Sky Cat laugh harder. What an idiot this boy was! The ridiculous inventions of theirs that ran on power never worked on her precious mountain.

The boy soon discovered this, but before he could do anything else, Yacaeli nudged the redhead a little bit more with her mind.

There was a satisfying snap as the blue haired girl crumpled to the ground, screaming in misery. Yacaeli smiled, watching the rest of the humans rush to restrain their friends. She wanted to hear exactly what was going on, but any closer would be unwise. The great cat wanted to save her unveiling for when they were higher up.

But the little boy, the one with circles around his eyes, seemed to be looking right at her. She couldn't understand why. Perhaps this boy needed to be taught a lesson.

Yacaeli fixed the boy with a hard stare, focusing her energy as she prepared to send him into the deepest sleep a human would ever experience.

Suddenly a pulse went through her body. Her muscles convulsed in pain, tensing up and quaking. Every nerve in her body was sparking with static. She forced her eyes open, and all she saw were flashes.

After an eternity of agony, it stopped. Yacaeli twitched involuntarily. What had just happened?

She blinked away spots from her vision and looked down at the scene before her. The two girls had stopped fighting. Their friends no longer needed to hold them. The boy with circles around his eyes was now watching her with his head cocked to one side, confused.

And then her moonlike eyes fell on the Pikachu.

The tiny yellow rodent was staring at her viciously, fully aware of her presence and certain that his attack hit the target. Another spark flashed on his cheeks, and Yacaeli flinched.

Yacaeli hadn't foreseen this. The mouse was always under her control, whether he knew it or not. Too many things had compiled together, causing her to lose focus of that one little task. And now it had cost her.

She couldn't fight now. The Sky Cat was hurt and she knew it. Warily, she stood and proceeded to scale the mountain.

Before she could toy with the humans again, she would need to be rid of the Pikachu. That was now her next task.

And it was in that moment that she remembered: none of the others ever had an electric Type. This boy—Ash, his name was Ash—had what the others didn't. The Pikachu needed to die, and it needed to happen as soon as possible.

***AN: Sexual harassment. Ha ha ha aha HA! Now I'm laughing about it. This probably makes no sense to anyone but me. HA!*  
**


	20. In a Flash

_"I don't care what you think, just as long as it's about me. The best of us can find happiness in misery" - Fall Out Boy "I Don't Care"  
_

20 In a Flash

Misty stopped struggling, going limp in my arms. For a second I wondered if she was even conscious, but soon she asked that we let go of her. We obliged, and she sank to the ground, keeping her head down. I wondered what was going through her head, yet I valued my life too much to ask.

The bracelet had stopped emitting heat, but the strange rain still fell. It began to fall more frequently, splattering like tiny tidal waves every time one hit the ground. I could almost hear the whistle of missiles as they bombarded us.

Dawn was still on the ground, panting heavily. Tears streamed down her pretty face, her eyes swollen pitifully. She was baring her teeth in an attempt not to scream. "Get my bag," she said forcefully.

May and Drew exchanged a confused look. "What do you mean?" said May.

"My backpack, darn it!" She was trying really hard not to swear. "I need my backpack, so give it to me!"

Drew looked around before snatching it. He placed it in front of her, and Dawn immediately began rummaging through it with her good arm.

She pulled out several feet of bandaging. "Get me a stick," she commanded. "A stiff one." We searched around, but being on a mountain, there weren't many trees.

Misty stood up and pulled out her mallet. To my surprise she yanked off the hammer part, leaving only the handle. "Here," she said quietly.

Dawn took it gratefully. "Okay," she breathed. Sweat was pouring down her face, which was screwed up in pain. "Drew," she said, "I need you to take my arm, and move it to the right until I tell you to stop."

Biting his lip, Drew knelt down and pushed her arm. Dawn winced and gritted her teeth.

"Easy!" she yelled. "That hur-ur-urt!"

Drew ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I don't think we should be doing this," he said, worry all over his voice.

"Hey," Dawn snapped. "Did you have three years of medical training? Didn't think so. So you shouldn't be making decisions like that, _I_ should. Now move the arm!"

He stared at her, astounded. Finally he placed his hands on her arm and gently moved it into place. Dawn winced and stuffed her hat in her mouth in an effort not to scream. "Stop!" she gasped, yanking the hat out. "Now hold it there, and put the stick like… that!" Dawn carefully orchestrated Drew's movements, guiding him as he bound her arm with Misty's mallet handle as a splint.

"Like that?" Drew asked warily. He was usually so confident, but when it came to dressing wounds, he seemed to know as much as a rock would.

Dawn glanced down at it. "Yeah, that'll work. Thank you, Drew."

May glared at Drew. She placed her hands on her hips and promptly looked away, outraged yet determined to remain silent.

Misty kept her head down, afraid of what might meet her eyes if she looked up. "I'm sorry, Dawn," she whispered. "I don't know what I was doing."

Dawn remained on the ground, staring at Misty in silence. Suddenly, she got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Misty in a forgiving hug. "That's okay," she murmured. "I _did_ call you something awful."

Misty laughed uneasily. I couldn't believe it. I'd always known Misty would never hurt someone severely, but I had never expected her to feel guilty after action she took. Yet here she was, guilty as a criminal, and scared as one being led to the chair. I wanted to hug her, despite everything. But she was a little busy hugging Dawn. So I congratulated Pikachu instead.

"Great job, buddy," I said cheerily.

Pikachu's left ear shot up into the air, erect. "Pikachu!" he said with a smile.

"Hey," Max called. "It's still raining."

I looked up, and another fat drop landed in my eyes. I blinked away the water, but I didn't feel any irresistible urge to fight my friends. The enchantment on the water had been lifted.

But it hadn't stopped raining.

My wrist was dry in contrast to the rest of my body. The bracelet was acting up again. God, was there no end to these dangers?

"Something else is wrong," I announced.

Paul hissed angrily. "Great."

Dawn tested her newly mended arm. "What should we do then?" she questioned, falling right back into easygoing innocence.

"You're the one with medical training, _you_ think of something," May snapped.

We paid her no mind.

Drew scooped up his bag. "We should try to find shelter," he suggested.

"There aren't a lot of caves around here," Brock pointed out. "We're going to have to split up if we're going to find a place to stay."

"NO!" everyone said together. Brock cringed away from our resounding answer.

"No matter _what_ happens," said Misty, "we've got to stay together. If we don't, Yacaeli will kill us that much easier."

Max joined our conversation. "I agree with Misty. We have to get moving."

"Right," I consented. "We'll keep going up until we find shelter. Okay?"

They all nodded. We started walking in the rain, putting our backpacks and coats over our heads in an effort to stay dry.

It started raining harder, the drops getting bigger. Soon one drop to the head was enough to knock you out for a good thirty seconds. We rushed up the mountain, panicking. The drops were huge and they _hurt_.

"Can you hear that?" Max called.

"What?" Drew replied. He was at the front of our escapade, and with Max at the back, he couldn't hear him. The pounding of the rain probably just added to the hearing impairment.

"That sound!" yelled Max. His glasses were being hit by a raindrop every now and again, thus messing up his vision. The young boy clung to Brock like a dog. "That sound!"

I tried to listen for it, but all I could hear was the slapping of the rain. But the bracelet started heating up. My heart rate sped up a little. There was something bad up ahead, and I _really_ didn't want to know what it was.

Suddenly, our procession stopped. I nearly ran into Misty and Drew. "Why are we stopping?" called Misty over the wind and rain.

"There's a big trench in the way!" May yelled.

"What?" asked Brock.

I kept my ears strained, trying to hear both the conversations behind and in front of me. I felt my face form into a scowl, because the voices were getting harder to hear.

Suddenly, I was aware of a new noise. A rushing sound was steadily getting louder. I looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

And then, I looked up.

It was barely in my vision, but I could see it. I was reminded of hot days, lying on the sidewalk with Gary and looking down the street from a horizontal position. If you were at the right height, it looked like water was coming up the road. I told my mom this, and she explained to me it was a mirage.

This was no mirage. I had an awful feeling that this was real.

The water from the rain had collected somewhere at the top of the mountain, and now it was cascading down on us. I started to panic, the heat of the bracelet mimicking my emotions. "Uh oh," was all I could say.

"RUN!" yelled Max.

Out of panic, everyone broke into a sprint, which wasn't the best idea in the world. The water was coming down the _entire_ side of the mountain; running forwards didn't provide an escape. In an instant our feet were swept out from under us. I lurched sideways, the rush of water knocking me down.

Suddenly I was buried under the water and being pulled away by the current. The water was so high over my head that there was no way I could get a breath. Blindly, I dug my nails into the muddy ground, hoping to get an anchor. My fingers clawed across the ground. Panic shot through me when I felt my feet no longer in contact with the mountain, but hanging in the air. The fear of falling over three thousand feet was enough for my hands to dig into the mud up to the wrists.

The bracelet seared with heat, but I couldn't see anything in the murky water. My backpack tugged with the water, begging to be let free. My supply of air was dangerously low. There was a dull pain in my head that grew as I ran out of oxygen.

Random things floated by me, invisible until they practically hit me in the face. Most of them I couldn't make out, as they were just dark shapes. I didn't want to open my mouth for fear something nasty would float in.

My eyes were ready to pop. My heart and lungs were constricted beyond belief, all the air squeezed out of them. I bloated my cheeks in an effort to preserve the air, but as we all know, that never works. There was a choking sensation in my throat, and it was as if something in my head popped.

Suddenly, my lids felt heavy. Why bother fighting anymore? A blissful sleep was waiting for me; all I had to do was close my eyes…

_You will not die here._

I jumped (which was pretty weird underwater). Where had that voice come from? The pain in my head was unbelievable, but I wasn't about to die without knowing who spoke the last words I would ever hear.

"Hello?" I tried to say, but I instantly regretted it. A stream of bubbles escaped my mouth, the last of my air.

_Hush, child. You will be fine._

Two voices? Huh? One was a girl, I was certain, while the other was a man. I didn't know where they were coming from, but the burning in my chest distracted me before I could make another conclusion about the voices.

_Calm down,_ said the girl voice. _Don't let the water take you. A fire can survive a dowsing, but only if it has the strength to._

I _knew_ this voice. Maybe I'd heard it in a dream or something. But I _knew_ it.

With new determination, I dug my fists into the mud even deeper. The heat of the bracelet was dulled by the muck, but I could still feel it warming my skin. My head was ready to explode, my blood starting to boil. I couldn't see. Heck, I could hardly think. I wanted to die, just so I could breathe again.

It took me a moment to notice, but the current was slowing down. Light was starting to shine through the water, a sign I was getting closer to the surface. But… I hadn't moved! The water level must have been shrinking!

My lips smiled without my consent. I wanted to leap with joy. My head broke the surface and I sucked in air with relish. I was soaking wet and freezing in the chilly wind, but I was alive. My head still throbbed from the oxygen depletion, but I was glad it did. The pain meant I wasn't nearly as injured as I thought.

Actually, I wasn't too sure about that. Maybe it meant it was worse. I needed to check with Dawn.

I looked around. The walls of the mountain were still trickling with straggling streams that hadn't made it in time for the grand assault. The trail we had been walking on was muddy and swamped with water. I pulled myself out of the muck with a sucking sound, my elbows coated in mud.

There was a tiny squeak, and I looked down behind me to see Pikachu clinging to the side of the mountain. "Pikachu!" I cried.

I tore off my jacket and lowered it for my best friend to grab. He looked up at me with panic, but he managed to take hold. I pulled him up slowly, and immediately began looking for others in need of help.

I blinked, needing to check again. Something was _wrong_.

Behind me, there was a coughing, and I looked down the way we had come. Paul was struggling back up from where he had been dangling off the side of the cliff. And he was the _only one._

Where were the others?

***AN: Well, I had a rant here before, but I decided to get rid of it. Now we have a happy author's note! Yay! And this is the end of it! Woo hoo!*  
**


	21. Water is No Better

_"Not knowing how to think, I scream aloud, begin to sink. My legs and arms are broken down with envy for the solid ground. I'm reaching for the life within me, how can one man stop his ending? I thought of just your face... relaxed, and floated into space" - Blue October "Into the Ocean"_

21 Water is No Better

May was in a panic. She hated water; _hated_ it. Yet the water was rushing over her head, crushing her and all her attempts to breathe. She was drowning, and it terrified her.

Desperate, she let go of her hold on the ground and clawed the water to get to the surface. She didn't even realize she was being swept away. The instant she emerged from the abyss of water, she had been dragged too far.

With a bloodcurdling scream, May was carried over the edge, her nails digging uselessly into the rock.

*****************************************************I have to wake up at 5:30************************************************************

The water didn't scare Drew. Neither did the big bad current trying to sweep him away. No sir! Drew Hayden was fearless!

Or so he told himself.

Drew was fearless when there was a way out. An escape route, a rope, someone reaching out for him, etcetera. He didn't have any of these things. It was him, the water, and the slippery mud that wouldn't let him grab hold. There was no chance.

He curled his fingers in the mud, feeling himself slide a little bit more. It was a strain of his strength to keep holding on. His neck was aching from trying to curve up for air. All his efforts were futile. His lungs burned with lack of oxygen. Drew never wanted to give up so badly.

The water gave an extra push, and Drew felt his lower half fall over the edge. He dug his fingers into the mud and took the deadly chance of a breath.

Out of the corner of his eye, Drew saw a flash of white. Something swooped down from the mountain and yanked him up by the collar of his shirt. His hands were ripped out of the mud, and his body snatched out of the water and into the chilling wind.

Drew appeared to be flying. He could hardly see, as everything was a blur. He was still blinking water out of his eyes when whatever it was dropped him on dry ground and vanished.

*************************************************Every weekday this summer for swim team***************************************************

The pain in her broken arm was unbelievable. Dawn could only hold on with her good arm, and there was no way it alone could hold her. She tried digging her feet into the mud, but it did her no good. Frantically, she tried to remember everything she'd learned at summer camp about rivers.

She recalled that when rafting, if you fell out of the boat, you were supposed to fold your arms and lock your legs so the rapids wouldn't drown you. But the camp counselors had never mentioned being dragged over a waterfall from three thousand feet up.

Dawn exhaled calmly, exactly the opposite of her terrified heart. A small stream of bubbles left her mouth. She would be fine if she could just remain calm, and _think_.

Something was poking her in the side. Agitated, she curled her fingers in the mud for a better hold and sent her broken arm to find what was bothering her.

Dawn's hand curled around the handle of something. With a jolt she remembered what it was.

_Lucas smiled at her from where he lay on the ground. Dawn was still on her feet, victorious. "Wow," he said. "You're better than I thought." _

_Dawn had to grin. She extended a hand and helped her friend up. "Well?" she prompted. "A deal's a deal. Pay up." _

_With mock depression, Lucas found his bag. He plunged his hand inside and returned with a small, deadly dagger. "Now be careful, Dawn," he warned, his expression extremely serious. "It's _very_ sharp." _

_She laughed and accepted her winnings. "Not even gonna ask me for a rematch?" she chuckled. She belted the blade around her waist, realizing it would hide nicely under any outfit she could come up with._

_Lucas shrugged. "I was going to give you that knife anyways," he said. "But I'll fight you for your kiss next time, and be prepared to lose."_

Dawn removed the knife from its sheath almost morbidly. That was the last time she had seen Lucas, before he… before he…

She shook herself. Now was not the time to be sad. Viciously she thrust the dagger into the ground. It sank into the mud, creating something much more stable for her to hold. Dawn latched both her arms to the hilt of the blade, sending a silent prayer that she would survive.

Even though what happened to Lucas was her fault. Even though she deserved a painful death for what happened to him.

The knife shifted a little in the mud, and Dawn forced it deeper into the mountain. She would not die here. Not before she avenged his death.

**************************************************I then swim for 2 1/2 hours, and get out of the pool at nine*************************************

There was no panic in Misty's mind. Water was her element. Her hair was pulled gently out of its usual ponytail by the raving rapids that swarmed around her. She exhaled with a serenity that the others lacked; she would be fine. She always was.

Due to her extreme sense of peace, Misty's air supply lasted much longer than her friends'. It was a trick she learned when she was little, and having contests with her sisters to see who could reach the bottom of the pool first.

Misty observed her surroundings, searching for something she could use in the murky gloom. At the moment she was clinging to the mud, and she knew it wouldn't hold her much longer. Closing her eyes, she thought back to before the flood. What had her surroundings been like?

They had stopped. Why? May said there was a trench in the way. Could she use that to her advantage? Not in any way she could think of. _Think_, she told herself. There had to be something…

Were there boulders? Boulders were solid and unmoving, and if she could latch onto one, she wouldn't be swept away. She thought back, desperate to remember. There was a slight burn in her lungs, and her air wouldn't last much longer.

Misty remembered the mountain going up so high that it disappeared in a layer of stormy clouds. She remembered looking over the edge and seeing a second blanket, as gray and dreary as the one above. There were pebbles that constantly got under her feet, trying to trip her. Right before they stopped, Misty had seen a flash of white fur disappear behind the rocks on the other side of the trench…

Yes! There _were_ rocks! To her left, farther in, there were rocks. One big boulder surrounded by two smaller ones.

Smiling at her cleverness, she began to kick furiously against the current. When she was sure she had enough speed, Misty lifted her left hand.

Immediately the current seemed to pick up, and she was dangling by one arm. She screwed up her face in concentration and forced herself forward. Slowly, Misty made her way sideways and up, hand by hand. Once or twice she thought she was going to lose her grip, but then she remembered her sisters and everyone she loved and most importantly, she remembered Ash. This was what kept her going.

Misty reached the boulders just as she released the last of her oxygen. She wrapped her arms around the largest one, locking her hands. As spots appeared before her eyes, she slid her way up the rock, and then she broke the surface.

Air flooded into her lungs with each sucking breath she took. Her hair was plastered to her face, and she shivered with the wind that blew around her. She looked around for any other sign of life, and saw none. Abandoned, Misty went back to hugging her rock. It was all she had at the moment.

*****************************************************It's absolutely exhausting*************************************************************

Brock held fast to Max. He felt it was his job to protect the kid, even before himself. They had been lucky: when the flood hit, they had been standing close to the mountain wall. Brock was able to force his fingers into a fissure in the rock, thus allowing him to hold on. Max dangled behind him, one hand attempting to keep the glasses on his face while the other was being clutched by Brock.

At some point, Brock thought they slid to the side. He wasn't sure, though. Perhaps the pain in his fingers was from holding on too long. If they had slid, surely there would have been blood.

They _had _slid, however, farther down than they could have imagined. They were pulled right over the trench, behind Misty's boulder, past Dawn and her knife, and yanked all the way to the edge of the flood. Drew was sitting on dry land that the water had missed, still dazed from being rescued by a mystery savior.

*******************************************************I didn't go today though************************************************************

I rushed to help Paul get up. For once, the proud Trainer didn't refuse my help. He collapsed on the muddy ground, soaking wet and staring at his hands with wide eyes. The entire first layer of skin seemed to have been ripped off his palms, exposing the tender redness beneath.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I was immensely worried and still frantically looking for the others as I knelt by his side.

"Yeah," Paul breathed. He prodded the fresh skin and winced. It probably stung like mad. "I'll live."

"How did you hold on?" I interrogated. Pikachu was sniffing around for any signs of the others.

He shrugged and got to his feet awkwardly, careful to keep his hands in the air. "I just heard a voice in my head. Said something like 'not till tomorrow' I think."

"I heard voices too!" I cried. "They told me I wasn't going to die, and it… it gave me the strength to hold on."

Paul looked up from his hands to fix me with a quizzical stare. He remained silent, but his look said it all.

I met his gaze and shrugged. "Hey Pikachu!" I called, looking away. "Did you find anything?"

"Pika!" replied my faithful companion. He was nosing around the bend, where my view was blocked by the mountainside. The trench was somewhere further along, which is where I guessed Pikachu was looking.

Paul began twisting his neck around, searching. "Where's Da—I mean, everyone else?"

"I don't know," I admitted sadly. "I'll go this way—," I pointed to where Pikachu was, "and you go the other way. Let's see what we can find."

Paul nodded his agreement and we split up.

***********************************************************I'll go at 3:30 though**********************************************************

I couldn't believe how fast the flood had come. Or how fast it had gone.

Since I was already soaked, I jumped into the trench that was now a pool and swam across. Pikachu awaited me there, sitting promptly on the muddy ground. "Pi," he said, waving his tail. I took that as Pika Speech for "Up there."

I pulled myself shakily out of the water, my clothes dripping. "Up where?" I asked, craning my neck.

What I saw either made my heart stop or made my gut explode with laughter. She sneered at me when I started rolling on the ground, laughing. "Oh yeah, being stuck on top of a rock is freaking _hilarious_, isn't it, Ash?" Misty snapped, her voice stinging. "I can't wait till you're in the same situation. Then I can roll around in the mud and laugh my head off at you."

"I'm sorry, Mist," I chuckled, wiping a tear away. "But it's not every day you see a girl hugging a rock like that."

She was clutching the top of the boulder, still sopping wet and shaking. Her legs were hitched up higher than her rear, giving her an almost comical appearance. It was like her limbs hung on happily while her body sagged. "Hardee har har," she said sarcastically. "Get me down."

I held out my arms. "Jump, Juliet. I'll catch you."

Misty aimed her fall and dropped into my arms. My legs buckled under her weight, and I almost dropped her when I stumbled. She set herself down almost immediately. "You're hardly Romeo," she scorned.

"You're right," I said, glancing down. "My pants aren't _nearly_ tight enough…"

If her mallet were still in one piece, I probably would have been clocked silly. After being rescued like that, Misty never had a sense of humor. Pity.

Following Pikachu, we trekked along the path, searching for the others. A voice floated over to us, murmuring, "Lucas… Lucas."

Misty and I rushed forward. Dawn was still lying in the mud, her hands wrapped around the hilt of a dagger that had been forced into the ground. She was soaked, but it also looked like she was crying. Drops of water ran down her lovely cheeks; maybe they were tears, maybe not.

I knelt down beside her. "Dawn," I began gently, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She jumped. Evidently she hadn't known I was there. "Ash," she whispered. Slowly, her eyes drifted to the knife in her hands. "Lucas…"

"Are you okay?" I questioned. I was trying to keep my eyes off the knife. Where had she gotten such a deadly weapon?

Dawn nodded shakily. Gingerly, she picked herself off the ground. Her entire front was caked in mud from lying on the ground. She kept the dagger firmly in her hands, though the rest of her was quivering.

I decided now wasn't the time to worry about Dawn. I had found three, and there were still four to go. The others were my priority. (Well, Misty _was_ my priority, but since she was alive and well I decided to rearrange the list.)

Drew was on his feet when we found him, drier than the rest of us, and helping Brock and Max. Brock's fingers were cut, and Max was massaging his shoulder. Drew kept flipping his hair out of his face; wet and straggly, it was even more in the way than usual.

"Okay," I said, feeling good that I had found all but one. "Paul's probably with May. Let's go back and meet them."

We turned around, marching back to the trench. Already we were sharing the terrifying experiences we'd had with the flood. Drew told of a strange creature that saved him. Misty claimed to have seen it as well.

We stopped dead in our tracks when we came to the trench.

********************************************************I love swimming, even though I'm not fast*********************************************

Tenebri paced back and forth angrily. "Why did you save the green headed human?" she hissed.

Absol shrugged. "He was a human. Father would not have wanted him dead."

"You didn't save the others," Tenebri went on. "Just him."

"I don't know why," he admitted. "I suppose I'm rather fond of the boy."

Tenebri was appalled. "_Fond?_ Of a _human?_ They _kill_ our kind, Absol. They make us fight and harm each other for their own pleasure. How can you be _fond _of those monsters?"

"He's different from the others," Absol insisted. "All of them are." He suddenly looked pained. "What if the flood is my fault? Absol have always been associated with natural disasters. I should have sensed this and warned them."

Tenebri softened. "You could not have sensed it. Yacaeli is not a force of nature. She is the one who caused this, and you know that. She's killing the humans." With this, she pressed her head affectionately into his fur. "Which is why we must kill her."

************************************************Lotsa paragraph breaks in this chapter, eh?***************************************************

Paul was getting out of the water on our side. He shook his head like a dog, purple hair sending a shower of water in all directions. Paul did not look up from the muddy footprints we had left in the ground.

"Paul?" inquired Drew. "Did you find May?"

The silent Trainer shuffled his foot, refusing to meet our eyes.

Worry crossed Max's face. "Did you find her?" He repeated Drew's question.

Morbidly, Paul nodded.

I felt bile rise in my throat. Paul was never this silent. Usually his actions were a way of speaking, most of them loud and rude. Now even his gestures were silent. "Is she okay?" I whispered.

In response, Paul reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out an orange cloth, and rung it out. I didn't realize what it was until he straightened it out and held it over his fist.

May's bright orange bandana had been dampened to a darker color, wrinkled and wet. There was a tear in the fabric.

"From where it snagged on a rock," Paul explained monotonously.

We had survived the flood, but not without a casualty. Tears began to fill the eyes of Dawn and Misty, while Drew's hands clenched into shaking fists. Max began bawling, clutching Brock as if the older boy were his lifeline.

I thought that was the most pain I'd ever felt, but soon I would learn I was wrong.

***AN: Hopefully this won't deter you guys from reading on, because it has a kinda happy ending (I actually haven't decided yet. Ooh I should make a POLL about it! Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do! It'll be on my profile page). May will not be the only one to die, but then, maybe she's not dead after all... **

**As I said, I'm making Dawn a lot more of an awesome character than the show does. I always watch it and wonder if Dawn has some crazy past that makes her put on a brave and happy face. She's going to seem OOC for a little bit, but it will all be explained, especially after a certain incident. I love Dawn, so that's why I'm doing this.  
**

**Anyways, I was on a roll while writing this and practically breezed through three chapters. Expect more soon! Au revior my wonderful readers and reviewers, until next time!*  
**


	22. Rage

_"No there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees. I've got bills to pay, I've got mouths to feed, and ain't nothing in this world for free. No I can't slow down, I can't hold back though you know I wish I could. No there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good" - Cage the Elephant "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"_

22 Rage

May blinked awake in the bright sunlight. The smell of pollen tickled her nose and made her sneeze. She fully opened her eyes and saw she was in a lovely meadow. Beyond the flower patch, she could see grass. Endless and endless hills of grass.

She sat up and stretched, as if waking from a long nap. Her bag was right beside her, all her pokeballs sitting inside it. Groggily she scooped it up and started walking.

May wasn't sure how long she walked; it may have been several days, it might have only been ten minutes. Either way, she walked, and she came across two boys.

They were hunched over a notebook. Squares had been roughly scribbled onto the back, like a game board. It looked as if they were playing chess.

She stared at them, silent. They still hadn't noticed her. She decided that the one on the left looked kinda like Gary, if Gary were taller and had orange hair. The boy on the right looked achingly familiar.

Her heart lurched. "Ash?" she said, amazed.

The boys turned slowly from their game. "Huh?" said the one on the right.

May stumbled. "Y-you're not Ash," she realized.

"And you're not Leaf," mentioned the Gary-look-alike. He looked disappointed, and with a sigh he moved a penny across the notebook. "Check," he announced.

The boy who wasn't Ash glanced down, moved what looked like a Lego piece all the way to the other side, and said, "Checkmate."

"Who _are_ you?" May snapped, suddenly scared. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was plunging over a cliff, with so much water…

She jumped. "I'm dead?" she demanded.

The Gary-looking person snorted. "And I thought _our_ names were weird. I'm Blue, by the way. A pleasure to meet you, Dead."

The Ash-looking person tipped his hat disinterestedly. "And I'm Red. Very nice to meet you."

May stamped her foot. "My name's not Dead! It's May! And where am I? Am I in heaven?"

Blue gave a hollow laugh and relaxed into the grass. "If this is your idea of heaven, then sure." A gentle wind floated by, ruffling his hair. He closed his eyes peacefully.

"And you stamped your foot," Red pointed out. "I've never seen someone actually do that."

"Keep talking in riddles and next time I'll stamp your face," she barked. "What's going on?"

Red shrugged. "If we knew, we'd be out of here already. I've been in here forever."

Blue opened a lazy eye and smirked. "Nice to have someone to talk to who's not begging me to play chess."

May looked around wildly. "I must be dead," she concluded. "That has to be it." She sat down hard, her eyes swimming. "I'm dead."

"Oh Mew, please don't cry," Red begged, suddenly alert. "C'mon, I don't have any experience with girls crying. Blue, help!"

Blue sat up. "Mostly girls cry because I turn them down on a date. I can't handle anything beyond that."

"I've left Max all alone!" she wailed, her tears escalating to heaving sobs. "He's all by himself and I'm here in this m-meadow and I can't even w-watch him to see if he's ok-kay!" She paused to allow herself some hyperventilating cries. "And—and Drew thinks I died h-hating him and I n-never told him I love him and now—now my friends are going up the m-mountain without me and I'll never—never ever get h-home!"

"Take it easy!" Red exclaimed, on his feet. He looked around frantically. "Shoot! Hey, hey, May, right? Calm down! We're not dead, we're fully alive and capable of eating and talking and playing chess, okay? And we're going to get out of here, even if I have to buy Blue a milkshake every day for the next two years when we do."

May reduced her sobs to small sniffles, staring at Red with swollen red eyes. He reached out sympathetically and patted her head. "It's going to be alright," he said gently.

She took one last sniff and nodded. Determined, she wiped her eyes. They rolled up to look at Red's hand, still resting on her crown. "Hey," she asked quietly, "have you seen my bandana?"

*****************************************************I love writing drama. It's a blast********************************************************

Drew and Max sat very close to each other. Drew held the bandana angrily in his hands, while Max sat in a stony silence worthy of Paul. They stared into the fire, not blinking, both their faces streaked with tears. However, their expressions were very different. Drew looked like he was to kill something, while Max was the saddest thing I'd ever seen.

Silently I threw another bit of cloth in the fire. There was no wood, thus there was nothing to burn but our own clothes. Kinda redundant, actually. We needed heat, so we burned our clothes.

I had tried making a fire appear out of the bracelet, but with no danger, it wouldn't heat up. We were pretty much screwed. And depressed, but that went without saying.

Paul seemed to feel personally responsible for May's… death (it was so hard to say the word). I could see it in his eyes. He thought perhaps if he had spotted her earlier, he could have saved her. Instead he had found the bandana hanging on the side of the cliff, and nothing more.

Yacaeli was truly an evil creature. How she could kill someone like May was beyond me. It left me without a place to turn. She was crueler than I'd imagined; no way could I play on her sympathies. I really would have to run a sword through her.

_Or burn her_, I thought, glancing at the bracelet. The firelight flickered off the gold, as beautiful as ever. With May gone, I was hella scared. The fact that we could actually _die_ on this mountain crashed down on me like the water did earlier. One of us was already not coming back; and the rest of us could follow.

"Ash," someone whispered.

I blinked and tore my eyes away from the bracelet. Misty was standing behind me, her back to the mountainside. Her eyes were alive with fear. Quickly, I got to my feet. "What?" I questioned.

She looked extremely shaken. "Come look at this." I followed her quivering form into the darkness, the fire's light unable to reach that far. I heard her hand brushing across the rock of the mountain, using the face as a guide.

I crept after her, afraid to make noise. It felt as if we were intruding on the night, or May's spirit, even. I was almost scared of meeting her angry ghost.

Suddenly, Misty stopped. I could barely see her in the night, the strange moonlight that usually lit our path blocked by the mountain. "Here." She fumbled for my hand and placed it on the rock. "This, right here."

I felt a shiver go down my spine. Something had been carved into the rock face. I traced it with my fingers, the once sharp engravings worn smooth with age. "What is it?" I hissed.

She shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me. Maybe that bracelet would heat up and tell us if it was dangerous."

I glanced down at the bracelet. "No. It must be safe."

Misty sighed in relief. "Good. Well, we can't see anything now. I guess we should wait till there's light."

"But what if it's some weird thing that we can only find at night?" I pointed out.

I didn't need to see to know the look she was giving me.

***************************************************So... yeah. I don't know what to say******************************************************

Yacaeli's tail swished angrily. How was she going to kill that Pikachu? Obviously it was more powerful than the average rodent, with a wide knowledge of attacks and defenses. Her paws kicked up little billows of dust as she paced in front of her cave.

The great cat growled in fury. She glared at Suicune, who was sleeping deeply in the moonlight. He writhed in his slumber with new nightmares.

Hardly satisfied, Yacaeli went back to her pacing. Arceus must have blessed the Pikachu. He must have seen potential in it. If it had his blessing, it would be that much harder for her to kill.

She stopped, suddenly horrified. What if all the humans had been sent by Arceus? What if _he_ had created the bracelet solely to destroy her, and tried to hide his crimes behind humans? Yacaeli snorted indignantly, and resumed her pacing. She fluttered off the ground occasionally, so anxious were her muscles.

It was _just_ like Arceus to do something like this. He never loved her in the first place! And now she was just in the way. Outraged, Yacaeli let out a snarl. She felt Pokemon halfway around the world erupt in anger. The idea that millions of Arceus's precious humans were now under attack by those they considered friends lightened her mood a little.

With a tiny smirk, Yacaeli sauntered around the summit. On the side opposite her cave, a pool of water rested. It was fully shrouded in the moonlight, making the water shimmer as if it were crystal. Colored a celestial blue, the pool exerted all the serenity and romance of a midnight stroll. It glowed luminously in the soft light. She gazed down inside it, able to see clear to the bottom. Nature had never created a pond equal of the Star Water's perfection.

Yacaeli reached out one enormous paw and delicately touched the surface. A ripple resounded from where she touched, and the water began to shimmer and distort. "Show me my prisoners," she commanded.

The pool gave an eerie wail as an image coruscated from the depths. Yacaeli's moonlike eyes drank in the scene before her, growing more furious by the minute.

Blue was picking flowers, glaring as he was unable to find any imperfections. Red was hunched over a notebook, fingering a bit of lint with his brow furrowed in concentration. Across from him sat the newest inmate to her prison.

It wasn't who she'd hoped it'd be.

The girl's hair was a mess, and her eyes were still swollen from crying. She stared intently at the game in front of her, chewing on the strings of her jacket.

Instantly livid, Yacaeli yowled and splashed the pool. Drops of the precious water flew in all directions, soaked into the dirt, and were never to be found again.

_How?_ How in the name of Mew had she messed up? She was supposed to get Ash! Or at least the redheaded girl. And yet she was stuck with the stupid bandana wearing girl! What good was she? None. The girl wasn't significant to her friends, not in any way Yacaeli could see. The entire flood had been a waste of her power and time.

It was too often she had made mistakes like this. Everyone in her prison was there by mistake. She had thought that Blue was close to Cináed when she took him. Of course not. He was merely a part of another boy, still out of her grasp, whose grandfather had traveled to her mountain just to look at it.

Red was a mishap as well. He looked like Cináed. She'd instantly assumed there was a connection and took him. It turned out that Red was just like Blue; a part of someone else. At least May was whole.

Other than the group of humans she was trying to kill, there were two other humans on her mountain, Yacaeli was aware of that. But they were so broken and hurt that they were no threat. She dismissed them from her mind, as the thought of them only made her angrier.

Yacaeli raked her claws across the ground, creating an ear piercing screech and leaving long ruts in the stone. Nothing could calm her rage. She wanted to kill something. Particularly that Pikachu.

With a roar, she sent out her powers. Suddenly she sensed every single Pokemon on the mountain, too many for her to identify individually. _Come,_ she told the mass. _I have need of you_.

She felt the mountain move as all of them answered her call. They were coming.

As they began to assemble, the Sky Cat placed another thought in their minds. She showed them the humans that were coming up her mountain. She showed the Pikachu. And she showed them what she wanted done to the humans and the Pikachu.

Their eyes shone with compliance. In their own ways, they all stated their obedience. Yacaeli was their queen. If she wanted, they would all leap off the mountain without a second thought.

All of them, save for two. An Umbreon and an Absol, curled up together and fast asleep.

***AN: I learned a new word. Floccinaucinihilipilification. It means a worthless estimate. Something no one cares about. Like, "I estimate Walmart has 16 snickerdoodle cookie boxes left." No one but the people who crave Walmart snickerdoodles cares. Which is, like, no one, because I don't think Walmart even sells snickerdoodles. And yes, I can pronounce that word. I wish you luck trying to pronounce it yourself. No easy feat, let me tell you. **

**I have a question for reviewer HollyBerry. I know there's probably lots of Holly Berrys in the world but this is just too coincidental. Did you attend Fairmont? I just gotta see if you're the one I know. Wonder if anyone did the poll? Imma go check. Later, homies.*  
**


	23. Stampede

_"This is far from over, I won't say goodnight. My heart's grown colder, waiting for the sun to rise again. Crawling closer, so save your kiss goodbye, it's far from over, I won't fear anymore" Rev Theory "Far From Over"_

23 Stampede

Morning came. Misty and I left without eating, and went straight to the carvings in the rock. With the soft morning light, we were able to see clearly what the engravings said.

I, with my power walk and determination to know the message, beat Misty there. She caught up to me, panting. "What's it say?" she gasped. She clutched her stomach painfully. The flood yesterday had exhausted her, and running wasn't doing her and favors.

"'Devon was here'," I read.

Despite her tiredness, Misty found the energy to sock me in the arm. "Haha, now what does it really say?"

I moved so she could clearly see it. The words had been cut into the stone long ago, but at least within the last century because I could still read what it said.

"'Fire is the ultimate key'?" Misty said, confused. "That's as helpful as talking to a rock."

"Well, if you think about it, we kinda _are_ talking to a rock," I pointed out.

She glared at me. "Are you done being a smartass?"

I hung my head. "Yes," I said, dejected.

Misty exhaled in frustration and plopped down on the ground. "Great. We've lost May and now we're trying to get help from a rock. How much worse can it get?"

"You could be wearing a chicken suit and doing the Macarena," I offered, determined not to be sad.

"I thought you said you were done being a—."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry."

We sat in silence for a while, Misty seething at my jokes and me laughing inwardly at them. She glared at the clouds that hid the ground from us, occasionally blowing her hair out of her face.

Suddenly I was hit with inspiration. I whipped my bag around and started digging through it. Misty watched me with an arched eyebrow, but she said nothing. "Ah ha!" I cried, holding out my hand.

"What?" she asked, bored.

"The medallion Madame what's-her-face gave me!" I said. "Maybe this has something to do with it."

"Why would you think the medallion has _anything_ to do with something cut into stone?" she said. Misty was tired and clearly didn't want to hear my crazy ideas.

I ignored her best I could. The medallion was in my hand, glistening in the morning light. The symbols were still ridiculously impossible, but… I was starting to see things on it I hadn't noticed before.

There were tiny pictures scratched around the circumference. I felt my jaw drop at my own stupidity. The _symbols_ were _pictures_. Small, almost impossible to see pictures, but that's what they were. Not some dead language, but crude images. And I could suddenly read the medallion.

That was the dream I'd had. Madame so-and-so hadn't translated it for me; she'd allowed the pictures to change into words. And now I knew _exactly _what I was supposed to do.

"Ash?" Misty said, sounding nervous. "You've got a really weird look on your face."

I grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. "You," I said, "are a genius." Now, I still can't figure out _why _I did this next part, but I gave her the quickest kiss ever and ran off, whooping.

"Guys!" I shouted, almost tripping over myself. "I've got it! I know what to do!"

I stopped short, because the scene before me was anything but happy.

Drew and Paul seemed to be squaring off, standing a few feet apart. Max was behind Drew, tears still sliding down his cheeks but his face twisted up in rage. Paul's expression was cool and collected. Dawn was on his side of the boxing ring, arms folded in a superior way.

Brock appeared to be Switzerland in the fight. He remained sitting in the middle, making it clear he wanted to stay out of it.

"There was nothing I could do," Paul said in an icy tone. "All I found was the bandana. I almost died trying to get just _that_ for you, Hayden, so why don't you get over it and be glad I did that much?"

"Because you could have saved her!" Drew snapped. "I bet she was dangling over the edge, just waiting for one of us to rescue her, and then she couldn't hold on any longer!"

"I would have seen her," replied Paul. "And she wasn't there."

Max stepped up. "My sister may not have liked you, but you didn't have to let her _die!_"

Paul looked taken aback, but Dawn was on his defense. "Paul's not the reason May's gone, and neither is anyone else here! So let's just drop the subject, okay?"

Drew snarled. "Your solution is for everyone to hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya'," he said.

Dawn scowled, but she didn't retort.

"What's going on?" Misty demanded. She appeared from behind me, her cheeks pink. Either I embarrassed her or she ran all the way here.

Glaring, Drew thrust an accusing finger at Paul. "He let May die! It's all _his fault!_"

I exchanged a worried look with Misty. This entire situation could be summed up in two words: _not good_.

Wary, I glanced skyward, searching for the giant raindrops that had caused the brawl between Misty and Dawn. There were none, yet I had a feeling this one would be a lot bloodier.

Then Brock stood, stealing all the attention. I waited, trying to predict what side he would join. To my utter surprise, he walked right down the middle of the feud and came to rest in front of me. He leaned down. His murmuring breath was hot and unnerving in my ear. "Look at the ground, and tell me if the rocks are jumping."

I cringed back, and met his serious face with a questioning look. Brock just nodded, urging me on.

Misty's expression was beyond quizzical. Her lower lip stuck out and her brow furrowed, while her eyes remained large with curiosity (don't ask how she did it, cuz I can't tell you). I tore my eyes away from her questioning face and glanced down at the ground.

I jumped about a foot in the air.

The pebbles that I had grown so used to were bouncing on the ground, like Mexican jumping beans. I stared in amazement as they leaped around. I was tempted to believe they were alive.

The bracelet began to warm my wrist, and I sagged with exasperation. _Here we go again_, I thought.

**********************************************"The Last Airbender" is premiering where I live*************************************************

Tenebri jumped awake. She was nestled next to Absol, who was still sleeping soundly. Her enormous ears hurt with the amount of noise they were picking up, and she could practically feel the mountain shaking.

Suddenly, something leaped clear over her head. She shrunk down against Absol, terrified. "Absol," she hissed. "Absol, wake up!"

He sat up bolt right. "What's going on?" he said immediately.

"The Pokemon," Tenebri whispered. "They're all running toward the humans."

Absol was on his feet in a heartbeat. "Yacaeli," he growled, his eyes glittering with hate. "She's going to kill them with the Pokemon of the mountain!"

Tenebri was scared, but she wasn't about to deter Absol when it had taken so much to persuade him. "Yes! We must go protect them before they're killed!"

The white disaster Pokemon was already racing down the mountain to where the human camp was.

*******************************************************Still don't know why. But I'm going to see it*******************************************

We heard it, felt it, sensed it. And then we saw it.

There was dust; so much dust that at first I really couldn't see anything. I didn't know what was coming until it was right on top of us.

The stampede of Pokemon racing down the mountain was probably the most nerve racking thing I'd ever seen. There were hundreds—no, thousands—of creatures I never would've considered dangerous. I saw Rapidash and Heracross and Delcatty and Houndoom and Elekid and Altaria and things I couldn't even name. And they were all running downhill to where we stood, gaping like a bunch of useless Magikarp.

"What the hell are we doing?" Misty shrieked. "RUN!"

We scattered. The ground was shaking with the sheer number of feet running on it. I scooped Pikachu up and felt his claws hook onto my shirt. Then I started to dash.

There was so much chaos. I couldn't tell if they were chasing _me_ or running away from something else. Either way, it was a good idea to get the heck out of there. I felt like Simba in _The Lion King_, bolting away from the wildebeest as they did the same from the hyena.

Needless to say, my wrist was on fire. I was certain my skin would blister and burn with the intensity of the heat. However, it wasn't my priority. I was more worried about getting trampled than anything, really.

Until the bracelet started sparking.

"Pika!" was the only warning I got. "Pika pi!"

"Huh?" I replied. I followed his little yellow finger and saw, all while running, the sparks emitting from my wrist. "AH!" I screamed. My feet tangled up in themselves in my panic, and I went down. Pikachu went flying, and I didn't see where he landed.

The Pokemon screeched in victory, seeing me on the ground. I scrambled to get up, but found that my ankle was determined to be useless. With wide eyes I tried to back away. They stopped just in front of me, whooping and crying their battle cries. My heart pounded in my chest. The thought of being stomped to death by hundreds of Pokemon was never a way I'd imagined I'd die.

Defensively, I raised my arm, sparks and all. I didn't think it would do much good.

_Like we said, you're not going to die yet._

Those voices! They were back! _Who are you and what are you doing in my head? _I demanded._  
_

_Don't question us, child,_ soothed the girl. _Your death is not now._

Suddenly, the bracelet exploded into flames. Fire leaped out of the metal, blinding me and causing the Pokemon to backpedal in fear. The inferno licked at them, singeing their fur and even burning a few.

Water Types pushed to the front of the line. A synchronized Water Gun attack started to put out the fire. Or tried to. For some reason their attacks landed uselessly in the flares.

I jumped to one foot, unable to stand on one ankle, and thrust my arm forward. A tornado of flames came roaring out of the bracelet, encircling my hand. The heat was so intense, but I endured. My face was sweating and my hand was so hot it felt icy. And then it felt numb. I was probably barbecuing my dominant hand, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

The fire got bigger, and bigger, so that there was a wall of inferno separating me from the wild Pokemon. A brave few tried to charge through the flames, but (as much as it killed me to see it) they were incinerated before they even saw the other side.

Even Rapidash and other fire species that I knew for a fact had Flash Fire were burned up in the conflagration. Usually fire could not touch them. This fire was different.

The fire's thunder was deafening. I was panting and coughing from the pale white smoke my flames produced. No wood to burn, nothing but animals. If enough Pokemon were burned, the smoke would probably turn black. But not yet, and hopefully not ever.

With my pursuers distracted by the barrier, I searched for Pikachu. I could hardly hear myself think, let alone hear one desperate Pokemon speak. I scoured my surroundings for his tiny yellow body, but I found nothing. What happened to him?

A single thought shook me. What if Pikachu's random anger had come on? Was it possible that he was on the other side of the flames, crying for my death? Or perhaps he had already been devoured in the fire…

I couldn't let myself think like that. I had to keep looking.

Bird Pokemon started soaring over the raging heat. I was in a panic until they started to dive bomb me. The fire seemed to reach out hungry claws at the vicious birds. The instant a flame licked their body, they practically exploded into a fiery mass of flying embers.

For some strange reason, the fire was protecting me. Nothing on the other side could touch me. I let out a laugh. It was ridiculous, how something like this could keep me safe.

*********************************************************I'm a huge Avatar fanatic*******************************************************

Meowth peered over the edge of the cliff. "Dere's a fire burnin' down dere," he remarked.

"Can it reach us?" Jessie mumbled. She was exhausted, hurting, and half asleep.

"I don't dink so," the cat replied. "We must be _really_ high up, cuz I can't see da bottom of da mountain."

"We can't be that far up, our balloon doesn't reach that high," she argued halfheartedly.

Meowth turned away from the edge and trudged back over to her. "I don't know, Jessie. We've been in weirder situations. Maybe da wind carried us up to da top."

Jessie sighed, despite the pain in her ribs. She wasn't going to bother arguing with a cat. Instead she turned to James's unmoving form. "We need to wake him up," she said.

Meowth was hesitant. He knew that moving anything that was injured could cause more injury. And the only way he could wake James up was if he rolled him over. But Jessie was right; they needed to make sure he would live.

With a grimace the cat Pokemon jumped over Jessie and flipped James over. The blue-haired man groaned in response and started coughing. His leg was bent out at an awkward angle. Jessie didn't like the way that looked.

Abruptly, Meowth blinked. "Ya know," he began, "I dink I know why dere's a fire down dere."

"Oh?" Jessie said, bored.

"Yeah," said Meowth. "All dose Pokemon dat came down da mountain oilier, I felt sometin' callin' me to run down too. Maybe they wanted us to set a fire."

"Why didn't you go?" she wondered. "Then I could get some peace and quiet."

"It felt evil," he replied in a scared voice. "I didn't wanta listen."

***AN: I'm going to see "The Last Airbender" three days before the rest of the world! So excited! Actually, I might not, cuz I need tickets...I want to, though. It's one of my favorite TV shows so I'm super psyched!  
**

**Yeah, so... you guys are going to hate me pretty soon. I hate myself for writing it. It made me really sad to write it. Frankly because I did some terrible things to my favorite characters. But it needed to happen. Yeah... sad. ****Hopefully I find a way to make it better. ****Anyways, I realized this chapter's rather short, eh? Oh well. Sorry. Gonna go eat chocolate. I need a bit of happiness after writing that. Which Aang and the gang have brought! Ohhh you guys are going to hate me!***


	24. Cause

_"And though it's been so long, I can't ever seem to forget. All it takes is a song, and I could swear I hear your steps. Down the hall echoes a past that leaves an ache, it's never left, cause I gave you my best" - Vanessa Carlton "My Best" _

24 Cause

Paul had run. Dawn saw him leave. He was scared, no doubt. Terrified of what he had done to May; afraid of what Drew would do to him. And of the stampede, too, of course.

Dawn rushed after him. The herd of Pokemon split in three. One group ran after Ash, one after Drew and the others, and one after her and Paul. Dawn chanced a glance behind her, and it made her run faster.

The creatures looked almost rabid. Their jaws were open with their tongues lolling out. Foam frothed at their lips, and their eyes were too wide. They ran, their feet pounding into the mountain as they chased her.

Her and Paul.

They looked ready to kill.

_No_, she told herself. _Not Paul too._

It wasn't going to happen again. She'd let it happen to Lucas and she wasn't going to let it happen to Paul. Not this time.

Not when she had something she so desperately had to tell him. Something she also should have told Lucas, but the time for that was long gone.

A Mightyena broke away from the group and flew over her head. Dawn ducked in fright, causing her to careen to the side and, miraculously, out of harm's way.

The Pokemon rushed past her, stampeding away after Paul. Panic made her heart flutter. If Paul was killed by these beasts, Dawn would… well, Dawn didn't know what she would do.

Over all the noise, she heard a low growl. Whipping around Dawn saw the Mightyena. Its eyes were huge and bloodshot. Saliva dripped from its maw, foaming and white. Its teeth glistened menacingly. Dawn got up slowly so as not to excite it. It was going to kill her for sure.

"N-nice Mightyena," she cooed, shaking. "You wouldn't want to eat me. I'm all tough and stringy. Why don't you go eat a Stantler? I'm sure they're much healthier."

It glared at her, a growl rumbling in its throat. Raven black feet with sharp white claws digging into the ground, and that wasn't even the worst of it. The most terrifying thing was when Dawn looked into its glowing red eyes.

Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to the ground. Her fear left her incapacitated. She was going to die, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Suddenly the dog gave a whimpering cry. It was knocked to the side, and Dawn lost eye contact. She blinked and woke up from her trance.

Paul was standing where the Mightyena had been, recovering from the kick he had given to the wretched dog. But the beast didn't stay down for long. In a flash it was on its feet again, its attention now on Paul.

Paul didn't trust his Pokemon to protect him, not after seeing what Pikachu could do to Ash. The rest of the stampede had thundered away, chasing an enemy that wasn't there. He took a deep breath, but his fear didn't show. "Get up and fight, you mangy dog," he challenged.

The Mightyena slunk around Paul, low to the ground. Its eyes never left its prey.

Dawn stood again. Paul couldn't beat this thing alone. It would kill him!

And then Dawn did the stupidest thing she possibly could have done: she called him name.

"Paul!" she exclaimed.

She'd meant it as a warning, though he was probably very aware of the danger. Instead, he looked away from his foe to see what Dawn was yelling about, and the Mightyena took the opportunity in stride.

It sprang forward, hitting Paul with tremendous force. Paul went staggering backwards, his arms trying to protect his face rather than break his fall. He went down hard, with the dog on top of him.

The Mightyena did not hesitate. Its teeth were razor sharp and sinking into Paul's neck. He howled in pain and fury. With a kick the beast was forced to let go, landing over Paul's head. But it did not give up. In a heartbeat it was on top of him again, tearing at his legs. Deep red droplets flew everywhere, accompanying Paul's baying of pain.

Dawn's eyes were wide. Suddenly her brain began working again. She ran forward, crashing into the Mightyena with her head.

The dog was ripped from Paul's legs, drawing another shriek of pain from him. Dawn lunged at the Mightyena, snaking her arms around its neck. She slipped her hand around its head, and she twisted.

With a sickening crack the Mightyena fell to the ground, lifeless. Its eyes had gone glassy, and its mouth hung open uselessly. Paul's blood had turned its teeth pink.

Dawn flew to Paul's side. Her heart was in her throat. Blood was still pumping from his neck, and his legs were a bloodied mangled mess. "Paul?" Dawn choked. The tears started to come. "Paul, can you hear me?"

He panted heavily, his eyes flicking around as if uncertain where to look.

Dawn forced a sad smile. "I'm over here, Paul," she whispered. She was trembling. "I need to tell you something."

Paul still did not look at her. Dawn wondered if he could even see. The only sound he made was his breathing, but that was getting shallower and shallower.

With a sob, Dawn took his hand. It was still raw from the flood. Had that really happened yesterday? It seemed like a million years ago. "It was always you," she told him. "Lucas… Lucas hoped it would be him, and you… you thought it was him, too. But I chose you from the start. I never got a chance to tell Lucas that it was _you_ I picked. So I'm telling you."

Paul didn't seem to hear her. Instead he raised a tentative hand to his neck. He gingerly touched the wound, but he didn't flinch away. "I'm dying," he breathed.

"Can you hear me, Paul?" Dawn snapped. "No, you're not going to die!" She said it more for herself than him. "Come on, Paul, don't think like that! You're going to be FINE! Did you hear me? YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE!"

"Where's Dawn?" he said. "DAWN! DAWN WHERE ARE YOU?"

Dawn squeezed his hand. "I'm right here! Look at me, Paul, I'm right in front of you!" She forced herself in front of his eyes. "I'm RIGHT HERE!"

His eyes were unfocused. Clearly he couldn't see, or even hear. Dawn completely broke down at the cruelty of it. The first time he had ever said her name, and he didn't even know she was there.

***********************************************************I'm taking Health online********************************************************

I found Pikachu dangling over the edge again. He didn't even look scared, just a little disappointed at being in the same scenario as last time. The fire had died away when the Pokemon gave up. Now all that was left was a bit of smoke and a vicious heat.

While I was walking back (well, limping I suppose. My ankle still hurt), I found Max, Brock, and Drew cowering in a crevice. How they all fit was beyond me.

Misty appeared soon after, soaking wet and sputtering. She refused to tell us where she had been hiding, except that she had seen the fire and hid in the water. This left us all thinking _what water?_ but Misty was giving nothing away.

Dawn and Paul were the only ones left.

"I'll bet Paul let Dawn die, too," Drew snarled bitterly.

"Why don't you lay off Paul?" I snapped. "He's not that bad. I mean, Dawn sees something in him."

Misty laughed a little at that. "I think she got dropped on her head as a baby."

This earned a laugh out of all of us, because really, Paul wasn't even a backup choice for most girls. Not because he was ugly, but because he was such a jerk.

We heard the yells then.

"You're going to be FINE! Did you hear me? YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE!"

We all exchanged frightened looks. Dawn was shouting. I broke into a run, hoping against hope that it wasn't Paul she was screaming at.

I came upon a scene marked by devastation. The footprints of a couple hundred Pokemon were embedded into the ground, the dust still settling. A limp Mightyena lay on the trail, its tongue out and its teeth pink with blood. To the right, Dawn was kneeling beside a lifeless form. Her shirt was smeared with blood, still fresh and red. Her face was pink and puffy from tears that still raced down her cheeks.

With my heart pounding, I crept toward Dawn. The lifeless form was Paul, I realized. He was yelling, and Dawn was yelling back, but I didn't bother to listen. I focused on the blood that welled from Paul's neck, that stained the legs of his pants, and that covered his fingers. The only other thing I noticed was Dawn's hand in his.

"I need to see Dawn. DAWN!" Paul was yelling.

I blinked. "Dawn's right there, Paul," I said gently, sinking to my knees. "She's holding your hand."

"He can't hear me," Dawn sobbed. "He… he can't even see me!"

The others were suddenly surrounding us. Misty knelt beside me, clenching my arm so hard that I felt the blood stop flowing. Brock held on to Max. Drew was left alone, and he looked shocked.

Paul was looking right at me, but I don't think he actually saw me. "Where," he said slowly, "is Dawn?"

I took his other hand and guided it to Dawn. "She's right here."

He jumped when I touched his bloody hand to her. "Really?" he whispered, still looking at me.

I nodded solemnly. "Yes, really."

The blood was pooling around Paul. He was losing too much of his vital, precious blood. There was no way to save him here.

Paul's eyes tore away from me. His entire body was shivering. When his eyes fell on Dawn, he seemed to focus, and he went still. "Dawn," he said, and his lips broke into a smile.

I never saw Paul smile so genuinely. And it would be the only thing I ever saw when I thought about him. Because that was how he died: smiling at Dawn.

***AN: It was so sad to write. I made it extremely depressing, partly because it's intense when I reread it, partly because it relieves stress. Yes, I take my anger out on fictional characters. But perhaps Paul isn't really dead, just like May. I mean, it's a slim chance, but he could be trapped in that meadow prison as we speak. Now I'm going to go post stuff about me on that dumb Health course I'm taking. It's required that I tell people about myself. Isn't that stupid? I could fail if I decided to be antisocial. **

**Till next time, then. Bye.*  
**


	25. Effect

_"You used to captivate me, by your resonating light, now I'm bound by the life you left behind. Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams; your voice it chased away all the sanity in me" -Evanescence "My Immortal"_

25 Effect

Arceus felt the earth shake. And then he wondered why.

As Arceus, he usually knew everything that happened on earth before it did. He could tell you which celebrities were going to get together and why, before even the magazines could dish up the gossip. He could warn the world that a hurricane was going to hit southern Kanto in two months, kill off the entire city of Fuchsia and leave the region in devastation.

But he could not have predicted Yacaeli's wrath. He unfocused his eyes and allowed himself to see what was happening.

It was strange, really. Her every move used to be his priority, but as soon as he realized he couldn't accurately see what she was doing, he had sent out scouts. None ever came back. So he decided, against his better judgment, that he was being paranoid and left her alone.

Now, as hundreds of Pokemon ran, tumbled, crashed, and flew down Mt. Fellorit, Arceus began to wonder if he should go to her himself. He felt the tiny town of Oupavos get trampled underfoot. Some people were crushed, but astonishingly most of them lived.

They soared out into the ocean, abandoning the island of Ceil and leaving to meet the rest of the world with destruction and fury. Every single Pokemon, even the ones who couldn't swim, managed to get into the water and go. Most of them hitched rides on water Types. Arceus couldn't fathom why the Gyarados and Seaking would let others ride on their backs, but then, he'd never liked the fish.

"Father?" said a squeaky voice.

Arceus blinked away the visions and turned to see Mew, adorable and pink and writhing in the air. "Yes, daughter?" he said.

Mew flipped upside down in the air and began batting at her tail. She wasn't looking at her father, but at her ever evasive tail. "Mother is mad," she informed him.

He heaved a sigh. "And they call you intelligent," he said in a low voice.

"But what I'm going to tell you is going to make you mad too," she continued as if he had not spoken.

"Then don't say it," he snapped. "I don't want to collapse the universe on itself." He looked around. "Where is Suicune?"

Mew captured her tail between two cute paws and gave it a victorious nip. "See, the thing that's going to make you mad... it is about him."

"What?" Arceus cried, and he rounded on her. "Where is he? What happened?"

"He's been gone for a few days," she said. Mew gestured to somewhere beyond Spear Pillar's walls with a disinterested wave of her foot. "With Mother."

Arceus's eyes went wide. A strange light glowed around him, and he gave a furious roar. "He's with_ her? _How_ dare_ he?" he screamed. He flicked his head, and Mew was suddenly frozen in place. "You," he said in a dangerous tone. "Go get him from Fellorit. Take Shaymin with you."

He released his hold on her, and Mew visibly saddened. "Not Shaymin! He's _weird_ and all he talks about is flowers! I don't _want_ to go with him!"

"Silence!" he commanded, and the hall shook with his anger. "You will do as I say, Mew, or face my Judgment!"

Mew cowered, raising her tail to hide her face. Her eyes, however, showed definite anger. "Fine," she said. "I'll take the creepy hedgehog."

**************************************************************YAY MEW!****************************************************************

Paul sneezed when a flower tickled his nose. He blinked awake in a soft, caressing sunlight. Focused on whoever decided to run a flower under his nose. Blinked again in shock.

"May?" he said.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake!" May said, visibly relieved. She dropped the flower. "Now Red can play chess with someone else."

Paul sat up. "You're… you're alive!" He paused to run a hand across his neck, searching for the wound. It wasn't there. "I'm alive," he remarked.

"Kinda," May explained, and Paul looked at her with horror. "According to Red and Blue, we're in a prison. But we're still alive."

His face took on a confused expression. He looked at the flowers, swaying in the slight breeze. He wasn't sure _how_, exactly, but he could feel the emptiness of the place. In a moment of panic he grabbed for his belt, and relaxed when he felt his pokeballs still attached. "How did I get here?" he questioned.

May shrugged. "I don't know. If we did, we could get out." She smiled and pulled him to his feet. "Come and meet Red and Blue. They're really nice."

Paul realized she named colors. Immediately he was concerned for her sanity. "Are these… friends of yours?" he asked tentatively. People gave imaginary friends the weirdest names.

She nodded. "And Red's _really_ good at chess. Hopefully you're better and can show him a checkmate so good he'll run to Blue crying."

Paul didn't respond, but allowed himself to get pulled by May. All he could think about was Dawn; her beautiful smile, her shining eyes, her idiotic personality, the last expression he ever saw on her lovely face…

Paul ran a hand down his face. He'd left her. He would never forgive himself.

**********************************************************Paragraph Break***************************************************************

Dawn and Drew suddenly had something in common. They sat very close together, with tearstained cheeks and trembling hands holding onto each other. Max sat on Drew's other side, Brock next to him.

Which left Misty and me on the other side of the fire, alone.

We were each other's comfort. After losing May and then Paul, we were scared and without a will to keep going. It seemed insane to keep going up. It seemed logical to turn around and walk back. It seemed ideal to jump off the mountain now and kiss living goodbye.

I held the medallion in my fingers, fighting to hold it steady. Misty had had her Starmie freeze some ice around my ankle, so hopefully it would heal. But it was the least of my problems.

The medal was right up close to my eyes. I stared at it so intently, my brain started to hurt. The pictures were so effing tiny that I would need a microscope to see them. The only two pictures I had made out were practically handed to me on a silver platter.

A fire and a key. Yeah, that was hard.

There was one that kinda looked like birds, but then the bodies were all wrong and they were wearing… dresses? Jeez, I didn't know. And then another one was a person, and whoever made the medallion put yellow gems for the person's eyes. Like I knew what _that_ meant.

In total, there were seven pictures. I had figured out two, examined the other two, and abandoned the last three. Not tonight, I decided. Tomorrow, when I wasn't feeling quite so sad and could think a little straighter. I put the medallion in my bag. It was exceedingly silent around our little campfire.

"It's my fault," Dawn said abruptly.

It had been so quiet, and her voice sounded unnaturally loud. I flinched, afraid she had disturbed the peace or something.

"It's not your fault, Dawn, you did all you could," Misty consoled.

Dawn shook her head. "No, I distracted him. I called his name, and he looked away. It attacked him in that instant."

We were silent. Dawn watched the flames of our cloth-burning fire, determined not to look at us. Noiseless tears slid down her cheeks. I couldn't be angry at Dawn, not when she was looking so pitiful.

"I killed Lucas, too," she said just as suddenly.

This made me jump. Didn't we see Lucas just last summer?

"Cynthia gave me a package to deliver to Professor Rowan," she continued, though she didn't seem to care if we were listening. "She didn't say it was important, just told me to get it to him in the next two days. I was all the way in Veilstone. I didn't want to go deliver the stupid package.

"So, while I was out shopping, I decided to call Lucas and see if he could do it for me. He said 'Sure, Dawn, but only if I get something in return.' I laughed, because I knew what he wanted, so I said 'We'll see' and hung up."

We didn't dare interrupt her. Drew was watching her with rapt attention, as was Misty. Max was trying, but yawns were capturing his attention. As I said, we can never tell with Brock, so let's just say he was listening. I found the entire story shocking, and she hadn't even gotten to the worst part yet.

"Lucas and I were training partners," she continued. "My mom had me take some fighting classes, you know, for self defense. Lucas was taking it too. At the time I didn't know why he was taking such as stupid class, but later I realized it was because _I_ was in it. We would practice techniques all the time, and I pretended to ignore that he was interested. Lucas liked me… a _lot_. But I was in love with Paul. Who was clearly not interested in anything but leveling up his Pokemon.

"I made the first bad decision: I decided to play Lucas so Paul would get jealous.

"I teased Lucas, but I never let him get any farther than a hug. It drove him crazy. He started challenging me to duels, gambling stuff I wanted against my kiss." She reached into her bag and pulled out the knife we'd seen her with before. "I won this from him," she whispered. "Won it like the witch I am. And Paul noticed nothing."

Dawn took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. "He took the package while I was still out shopping and was on his way to Rowan. Just outside Jubilfe he was attacked. The package was more important than either of us knew. He figured it out when those _devils_," she spit the word, "attacked him and beat him to death. Zoey showed up and managed to get his body and the package out of there before they took it. But Lucas was dead when she found him."

Dawn paused. She looked ready to fall apart. "And then… and then, I got a phone call," she sobbed, "and they told me that Lucas was dead, and the funeral was at the end of the week, and if I could be there, it would mean a lot to his father." Her tears flowed without restraint. "I went there the next day, and Lucas was so… so broken and helpless. I couldn't look at his body without thinking, 'I did this to him. It's _my_ fault this happened' and I swore I would avenge him. At least it would somewhat clear my conscience."

I stared at her, open mouthed. Lucas was _dead_? How could that be? I never went to a funeral. As far as I knew, I was going to see him when Oak and Rowan met up the next time. That must have been why Gary went all the way to Rowan. The old professor was in need of an assistant.

The thought of this made me furious. It was an insult to Lucas's memory to replace him so fast! He deserved a bit of respect, some grief! I couldn't believe how cruel Rowan was, or how heartless Gary was. How could he knowingly take the job of someone who died doing it, and not feel the least bit guilty?

I felt so bad for Dawn. To lose Lucas, her best friend, and then Paul, her love, and to feel responsible for both of them; it was too much for someone like her to handle. I knew Dawn. She was outgoing and enthusiastic and strong, but extremely sensitive and kind. These two things made her fragile and even self-hating at times. Like right now.

Drew placed a comforting arm on her shoulders while she cried. "Why don't we go to sleep?" he suggested gently. We all agreed. With sleep, we could escape the horror of Yacaeli's mountain for a few hours.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much sleeping that night. We were either too scared or too sad to sleep, and those of us who did were plagued by terrible nightmares. Yacaeli was a great cat, wasn't she? Killing off my friends and giving us nightmares all. Good cat, that one.

Morning came. I woke up, nothing exciting. I rubbed my face and felt the dark circles under my eyes. I probably looked like a train wreck. I sure felt like one.

Dawn was lying on her sleeping bag. She hadn't bothered to pitch her tent, and was lying next to Drew's sleeping form. Dawn was looking straight up, her eyes red and unblinking, while quiet tears rolled down her cheeks.

Misty was sighing softly in her sleep. With each exhale, a strand of her brilliant red hair that happened to be in front of her mouth went fluttering like a party favor. I snickered at the thought, then remember where I was and what had happened yesterday. My smile vanished instantly.

Paul was dead. Life had to move on or the rest of us would follow him. We had to go up the mountain and kill the demon Yacaeli or else millions would die.

Brock was awake and fishing granola bars out of his bag. He saw me watching and waved one in the air. "Breakfast," he said monotonously.

I rolled up my sleeping bag and shook Pikachu awake. He smelled the food and scampered over to Brock. I followed, only slightly handicapped by my ankle. It was going to heal in a few days.

But as time seemed to go on this mountain, a few days would be years.

Brock poured himself tin cup of coffee. As I watched, he fished a metal canteen out of his bag. Brock twisted the cap off and poured a clear liquid into his coffee. "Your health," he said, and he took a long drink.

I snatched up the canteen and sniffed. "Is this vodka?" I asked, astounded.

He nodded. "I need a drink when things go really bad," he explained. He gestured to the canteen in my hands. "If you need a bit, you're welcome to it. We've got something pretty awful ahead of us."

I stared at him, the vodka burning in my hands. "And what could that be?" I snapped. I was sixteen. No _way_ was I going to touch alcohol. I'd heard too many stories of kids getting addicted and that was _not _how I wanted to start my adult life. Mom would kill me!

Brock drained his cup. "Digging a grave."

I froze. The canteen went cold in my hands. Silently, I raised the metal to my lips and took a gulp. It felt like I drank liquid fire. Brock was right; I was going to need it.

***********************************************************Paragraph Break**************************************************************

Mew twisted in the air, agitated. She _hated_ the freaky green hedgehog. Although he looked a bit more like a tiny deer at the moment. His flying form truly bothered Mew; he seemed to think he could do all the clever tricks Mew could when she flew.

"My beautiful flowers are growing splendidly," Shaymin prattled. "The other day I chased a swarm of Vespiquen away from my prize Gracidea flowers. Can you imagine if they'd taken them? I would never have been able to fly with you today!"

"Shame," Mew growled. She gave a flick of her tail and zipped ahead. Shaymin zoomed after her. She rolled her eyes in aggravation.

Shaymin flew in front of her face, giggling. "So, what's up with you, girlfriend?" he asked.

"I got stuck going to Fellorit to save my idiot brother from my mom," she said, "with _you_."

The flying hedgehog didn't seem offended. "I know! Isn't this exciting? We're going to save Suicune!"

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you really are a guy," Mew snapped.

Shaymin cocked his head and gave her an understanding smile. It made Mew want to blast the little rodent all the way back to its Flower Paradise. "Mew, you know I'm a guy. I'm just more in touch with my feminine side than most." Suddenly, he gasped. "Oh my gosh, Mew, look down and tell me if that boat is not the cutest little boat you've ever seen!"

Mew sighed. She missed Lucario. He was not in touch with his feminine side _at all_, and he certainly didn't creep her out.

***AN: Brock is old enough to drink, I promise, although he's not the best role model. I don't think I'll have anyone get drunk and do something stupid, and I only put the alcohol in there because, well, I think we would all need a drink if we were going to bury one of our best friends. **

**I really need to space out my updates. If this keeps up, the story will be over in three weeks. Which I think is bad. But I decided to brighten your day, so that you'd review and my day would be good tomorrow, reading the reviews. I'm going to the dentist tomorrow, who happens to be my arch enemy, so I'll need all the support I can get. DON'T FORGET TO DO THE POLL, FOLKS! IT WILL DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF THE STORY!*  
**


	26. Fallen Leaves

_"Fear and panic in the air, I want to be free, from desolation and despair, and I feel like everything I sew, is being swept away, when I refuse to let you go" - Muse "Map of the Problematique"_

26 Fallen Leaves

We dug the hole with the help of our Pokemon and a few rocks. Paul was buried before everyone else even woke up. I marked the grave with a large rock. It was awful, horrible, and absolutely terrifying. I held on to a ridiculous hope of Paul sitting up and saying, "Why are you guys burying me? Can't you see I'm perfectly healthy?" But it didn't happen.

In a way, his death was worse than May's. There was a body left over. I watched him die. It was scary, and I didn't like to think about it. Now I knew why Brock drank. He had lost his mother, his father for a time, had ten siblings to care for, been rejected by countless women, and now he had lost May and Paul. It wouldn't be long before Drew and Dawn were following his footsteps.

We trekked back to our meager campsite to find Misty sitting with all her things packed. Her expression said she wanted to get moving as soon as possible.

Drew stirred in his sleep, and Max woke up without a sound. It was a quiet cleanup. We picked up the campsite, and, having buried Paul's possessions with him, we had no extra luggage.

The instant we were ready, we were gone. If you could call it "ready". We walked like zombies and were silent as the dead, but we pressed on. I couldn't believe how awful life had gotten. I should never have agreed to go up this stupid mountain. No, I should never have agreed to let the others come with me. Too many mistakes.

Come to think of it, life probably wouldn't go on much longer. Did I ever tell Misty I loved her? I didn't think so. I should get that out of the way so I wouldn't be kneeling at her deathbed trying to get the message through. Kinda like Dawn was with Paul.

Unfortunately, I didn't think I was ready to say it.

We walked for quite a while in silence. Drew held May's bandana in his hands, examining it thoroughly. I think he hoped to find a note that said "Got you!" or something similar. Something that told him it was all a prank and nothing real.

Pikachu sighed softly by my ear. He was depressed alongside the rest of us. There was no reason to be happy, none whatsoever. I wanted to fall to my knees and scream, to raise my muddy hands from digging Paul's grave to the heavens and beg them to take me, crash a boulder on my head, strike me down with lightning, anything; I wasn't picky. Just get me out of this terrible world.

But I couldn't even let a tear show. Everyone who was left was looking to me. I was always a leader to them, and I knew that. By losing it, so would they, and then…

I blinked, suddenly realizing what was going on. If we all fell apart, Yacaeli would win. If we fell apart and lost all will to keep going, Yacaeli would continue to do the terrible things she was doing and the entire journey would have been in vain. Paul and May… gone for nothing.

I wasn't going to let that happen. We were going to make it to the top of this Godforsaken mountain and destroy the villain at its peak. Even if it seemed hopeless and felt like suicide…

Pikachu suddenly scratched at my head. I flinched away. "What was that for?" I cried. I placed my hand on the scratch and checked for blood.

"Pika," he said, and he pointed up at the sky.

I followed his finger and saw my hat had been picked off my head by the wind, and was now blowing around high above my head. He had tried to grab my hat before it blew away, and didn't catch it in time. My shoulders sagged. "Great," I said.

I picked up the pace, chasing the runaway hat. It twisted in the air, dropping occasionally and then rocketing back into the sky. The others ran after me, calling my name and telling me to stop. I didn't listen; I had lost two of my best friends on this journey, and I wasn't going to lose my hat too.

I chased it up the mountain, steadily climbing. The hat teased me, twirling just within my grasp. I made desperate grabs for it, but the wind would always pick up at exactly the right moment, and pull it away.

Then, for some reason, the wind stopped. The hat dropped to the ground like a stone. I smiled and snatched it up before it could fly away again. After dusting off its superior red visor and placing the cap firmly on my head, I actually looked at where I was.

The wind started howling, causing me to hook one arm around Pikachu and my hat lest either of them blow away. My clothes were in a fight to get away from me, but I hardly noticed. I just stood there like an idiot, staring.

"Ash! What on earth were you thinking, running off like that?" Misty snapped. They were fighting the gales of wind, trying to come up to me. "If you _ever_ do something like that again, I will personally hunt you down and—." She fell silent.

"Yeah," Drew agreed. "Misty's right! You shouldn't—oh." He came to a stop and stared at the sight before us.

Brock and Dawn joined us, pulling Max, who could barely stand against the wind. Brock took one look at the object of our vision and let out a low whistle. "Now that is one big cave," he remarked.

We all nodded. No kidding.

It was as if, a _very_ long time ago, something enormous had burrowed out of the mountain and left a massive tunnel in its wake. The cave was craggily and crude, with stalagmites and stalactites clutching the floor and ceiling. However, the cave was extremely shallow, allowing us to see the end of it.

But, knowing this mountain, that wasn't the interesting part about it.

She was placed at the back of the cave, with four chains of rusted metal pulling her limbs apart by means of manacles. She dangled, head hanging in defeat with her hands drooping at the wrist. Her clothes consisted of a faded blue shirt and a worn red skirt. Hair the color of chestnuts fell from her head in straggly strands.

Whether she was alive or dead, well, that was a question I wasn't sure I wanted answered.

I blinked as I stared at the girl, shocked. She looked so familiar, and I hadn't even seen her face yet. I had this awful nagging feeling that I knew her, though I had no idea where from. I wasn't thinking about anything but the girl, and who she could possibly be, and next thing I knew I was right in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Drew asked. "Leave her alone. She's there for a reason."

I stared at the girl. Now I could see her face. Her delicate eyes were closed in a sick sleep, sunken deep into her skull. Her cheeks were sallow and her skin was gray. Chapped lips parted slightly, perhaps to allow air to get through better. There was a very slight expansion of her chest every so often, and that was the only thing that told me she was alive and breathing.

"I know her," I murmured, and I reached up to touch her face.

"Don't do that!" Misty cried, suddenly behind me. She jerked my hand down from the girl. "If she's dead, you shouldn't be anywhere near her. Now let's go."

"But she's not dead," I protested. I pointed to her chest, where the breathing was still regular. "See?"

Misty stared at the girl. "Okay, I believe you. Now what?"

"Now," I began, "we wake her up."

I reached up a timid hand, caught a strand of her straggly chestnut hair, and gave a small tug.

For a split second, I was afraid she really _was_ dead, and by pulling on her hair I had caused her head to roll off her neck and it would bounce along the ground like a ball, but I soon banished that fear. She was alive, right?

The girl's head leaned to the side I had pulled, and abruptly jolted upright. Her eyes fluttered, but did not open. "Who's there?" she mumbled. Her voice was dry and sandy, like she hadn't used it in centuries.

I wasn't sure how to answer, but my tongue was way ahead of me. Before I could even think, my mouth had said, "It's me," and then left me to take the punishment for the words.

Misty stared at me. I met her eyes and shrugged nervously. But the girl was now wide awake. Her eyes were the color of chocolate, sweetly brown and smooth. And they were transfixed on me. She opened her chapped lips, and she whispered one very confusing word. "Red," she said.

I blinked. Not what I'd expected. So I said, "Huh?" because I'm really smooth and smart like that with speech.

"Red!" she exclaimed. "You got away! How? I came up here looking for you, and then I got chased by a mountain lion, and it tackled me and next thing I knew I was in chains! How've you been?"

This girl was even more optimistic than Dawn. Here she was, hanging from a cave wall, and yet she was asking me how I've been. What a strange girl. "I think you have me confused for someone else," I said quickly.

The eyes of Misty and the others were boring into me. I could feel the heat of their stares on my back. The girl looked at me curiously. "What do you—oh. You're _him_."

She said it like it was a disease. I blanched. "What? I'm not the guy you were hoping I was. Sorry."

"You're the _other part_," she continued, as if I hadn't spoken. "The one Red came from."

I stared at her. "Are you thinking straight, girl?" I questioned.

She stared right back at me. It was extremely uncomfortable, considering her eyes were so sunken in and dead looking. "Yes," she said. "Would you mind getting me down? My wrists hurt."

Brock was suddenly in front of me, on his knees and pleading. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen! Would you go out with me?"

The girl stared at him, confused. "Hey," she said slowly, "you're the Gym Leader in Pewter, aren't you? Brock, I think."

"YES!" Brock cried. "She knows my name!"

I felt my jaw drop. Even with the girl looking as sickly as she did, Brock still saw some beauty there. Misty hid her face in her hand while the other pinched Brock's ear. "Let's go, lover boy. C'mon." She began to drag him away, much to his protest.

"I'm sorry, Brock," called the girl. "I went to get my boyfriend's missing part. So I'm kinda taken and committed."

Drew stepped up. He and I proceeded to unchain the girl, and she dropped heavily to the ground. As she stumbled, Drew and I caught her, steadying her on her feet. "Are you sure you can move?" Drew asked worriedly.

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I've been worse. Thanks, guys." She began rubbing her sore wrists. "By the way, my name's Leaf."

Leaf. I knew that name from… somewhere. A long, long time ago, it felt like. Almost another life. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu," I introduced.

She nodded. "I know."

"How did you get chained to a cave wall?" Max asked. He pushed his glasses a little higher up his nose.

Leaf shrugged. "A mountain lion locked me up, I suppose." She frowned. "A mountain lion with wings."

Max gasped. "That's Yacaeli!" he cried. "I-I've seen her, and that's what she looks like!"

"You named the mountain lion?" Leaf said in disbelief.

"No, she's this psychotic cat Pokemon that's out for our blood," I explained nonchalantly. "So she had a name before we knew her."

"Oh," Leaf said. Then she shrugged. "That makes sense."

"I think you've been hanging there a little too long," Drew remarked. He tossed the matches we'd been using to make fires with at me. "Looks like we're staying in here, so get going."

I glared at him, then instantly felt bad. Drew was being sour because of May. I needed to give him a break. With a sigh, I knelt down and began burning a pair of my spare socks. "Okay, toss in what you can."

Dawn pulled out a wad of bandaging and threw it into the flame. Then she propped her bag up against the wall of the cave, lay down with it as her pillow, and closed her eyes. Yeah, like she was asleep.

"Why do movies always show people making fires in the middle of the cave?" Misty wondered as she settled down near Dawn. "It's more comfortable if you have something to lean against."

"Eh, it's Hollywood," Brock said with a shrug. "Probably something about camera angles." He plunged his hand into his bag and pulled out something white. "Marshmallows?"

Leaf snatched the entire bag from him. She ripped it open and began wolfing down the little white cylinders with a ferocity I'd only seen in May.

May… the thought of her caused an awful pain in my stomach.

"Slow down!" cried Brock. "You'll puke if you eat that fast."

Drew wasn't paying attention. He gestured to the entrance of the cave. "Just when I think I've seen everything."

I looked outside, curious. At first it appeared to be raining, or snowing, maybe. But then I looked closer, and I saw what were unmistakably leaves. Bright green and blowing about in the wind. They were falling in the millions, and I wondered where they'd come from. There weren't any trees here!

"Oh look at that," Leaf said through a mouthful of marshmallows. "All the leaves." She stared outside with a longing expression. "It's pretty."

Drew nodded. "Different," he said.

Leaf visibly started. She swung her head around to look at Drew. "Do you think I'm weird?" she asked sincerely.

He smiled and held up his hand, fingers an inch apart. "Just a little."

She looked a little confused, but then nodded. Like she had expected an enthusiastic yes from him. "Okay." She turned to Brock. "Do you have anything else to eat? And some water, please?"

Brock arched an eyebrow but he produced a rather squished granola bar and a water bottle from the depths of his bag. "Tada," he said. "Water and food."

Leaf devoured the bar like she'd never eaten something so wonderful. She then guzzled the water bottle dry, gave a small hiccup, and was silent.

Misty stared at her. "You're kinda hungry, huh?" she said.

"I haven't eaten the whole time I was on that wall," Leaf said casually, gesturing to the back of the cave. "So… a few years, probably." Suddenly, she gasped. "I haven't eaten in years! Am I dead?"

"Doesn't look like it," I told her. I had a feeling this girl wasn't meant to be taken seriously. She believed herself, apparently, but the rest of us should treat her like a young child. "Can you stick you hand through your stomach?"

Leaf blinked, and then she tried it. "No," she said, sounding scared.

"Then you're fine," Drew promised. He held out his hand, and coolly flipped his bangs. "Mind handing me a marshmallow?"

She hadn't even realized she was still holding the bag. Leaf stared at it in puzzlement, and then handed it to Drew.

I gaped at Drew. What was he doing? If Leaf weren't so disoriented, she probably would've interpreted that as flirting. _I_ interpreted it as flirting. What the heck was he doing, trying to hit on Leaf like that?

Had he already given up on May?

I couldn't believe it. I'd always thought of Drew as faithful and loyal, even though he didn't always show it. To think he would desert May so quickly was sickening.

But maybe I was seeing it the wrong way. I mean, it was _one_ time. It was very possible that it meant nothing.

I shook my head. This was ridiculous. Our lives were at risk and I was questioning Drew's love life. I mentally slapped myself and decided to decipher the medallion.

There was a fire, and a key, and five other things. A person with yellow eyes. Birds wearing dresses. Yeah, I should leave those two alone for now.

The remaining three images were relatively easy, for some reason. One of them showed two flowers, and from the shading of the stone, they were different colors. One was a jagged stick that seemed to emit light, and I guessed it as a lightning bolt. The last picture looked like a sword.

Did these mean anything to me? Nope! Not a thing. But at least I knew what they were now. Made me feel like I accomplished something.

I decided that I had achieved enough for one night. I leaned against the cave wall, next to Misty. She looked at me pointedly, and then looked away.

I winced. "What was that for?" I asked.

"What?" Misty replied.

"That look," I elaborated. "You looked at me like I had a booger hanging from my nose."

"Well you do," she said casually.

I jumped and immediately wiped my nose. "But that's not the reason you looked at me like that," I pressed.

"I didn't look at you like anything, Ash," she snapped. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"It doesn't, I'm just wondering why you looked at me like that." I felt like I was gaining the upper hand in this argument.

Misty gaped. "I didn't do anything, Ash. Stop being so self conscious and get over it."

"Whoa, _I'm _the one who's self conscious?" I said, shocked. "Why don't you look in the mirror, princess?"

"_Princess?_ Really, Ash? That was the best you could do?"

"Yeah, because you go around expecting everyone to do what you say without being told to," I spat.

"Oh, you think so? And where did you make this assumption, bright eyes?" Misty replied with a sarcastic laugh.

"I've known you for six years, Misty," I responded. "I think I know you well enough by now."

"See, there's your mistake," she said with fake pity. "You were _thinking_. Don't you know better than to test your mental health like that?"

I scowled. "Good night," I snapped. Huffing with rage, I got up and went to the other side of the fire. I set my backpack against a rock, lay down, and closed my eyes instantly.

"Don't dream," she called. "You might break something."

I resisted the urge to retort and/or kick the stupid redhead and instead willed sleep to come.

************************************************************Pizza for dinner!*************************************************************

When I opened my eyes, I was in a very different world than the one I had left. It looked like the one I had met Madame Eu-something-or-other when she had told me the meaning of the medallion. The time where my memory was wiped by a certain meddlesome cat (hint hint).

But instead of Madame What's-her-face (I seriously could NOT remember her name) standing in the cloud world, there was a man and a woman. The man had black hair that spiked up in the back, with glowing amber eyes marked with mischief. He was remarkably similar to the face I saw when I looked in the mirror.

The woman was harder to identify. Her hair was a cascade of fiery red waves, reaching down to the curve of her back. She had the same eyes as the man, but she had a glint in them and something in her smile that reminded me of a fox. A light smattering of freckles went across her nose and under her eyes, and for some reason I _knew_ who she was, though I'd never seen her before in my life.

She smiled her foxy smile and met my eyes. "Hello Ash," she purred.

It hit me like a spark. She was the woman who kept talking to me in my head! "Who are you and why are you always in my head?" I demanded.

The woman _tsk_ed scornfully. "Manners, sweetheart. Cináed, I would have expected better from your son."

"Sorry," the man said with a laugh. "I never got the chance to raise him."

"Whoa, wait, you're _Cináed?_" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You're my father? The guy who broke my mom's heart and didn't even stick around for my birth? _That_ Cináed?"

Cináed looked down at me disapprovingly. "You make me sound like the bad guy," he noticed.

"Of course I do!" I retorted. "Can you put it in a way where you're _not_ the bad guy?"

"Mom!" Cináed whined, rolling his eyes toward the woman. "He's picking on me."

The woman gave him a playful shove. "Now, son, you're old enough to fight your own battles."

"Mom?" I questioned, super confused now.

She nodded. "I'm your grandmother, Adara Malone. Though I really don't look like a grandmother, do I?"

I nodded my agreement. The girl looked like she was twenty-six.

Adara shrugged. "Only plus about dying young. You get to stay young forever."

"You're dead?" I asked. This was too much information to take at once.

"Yep!" Cináed said happily. "And good thing, too. Yacaeli didn't want to take us like she did your friends; she wanted to make sure we couldn't come back and hurt her. So she killed us right off the bat."

I blinked. This was going way too fast for me at the moment. "She took my friends? Slow down, Dad, and tell me what you're talking about." I almost laughed. Calling someone Dad was extremely weird.

Apparently, Cináed thought so too. "Heh," he laughed. "He called me Dad. Wow. I'm not used to that."

"You'd better get used to it, hun, because if Ashy here isn't careful, he'll be hanging around here a lot more," Adara said bitterly. She met my eyes. "Yacaeli is very powerful, Ash. Don't ever try to deny that."

"Okay, Yacaeli is all powerful, accepted. Now what are you talking about?"

Cináed's eyes glinted dangerously. "You know, when it floods, the flowers are the first to be uprooted."

Adara nodded gravely. "And in a herd, the small are always eaten first," she commented.

Were they really talking in riddles? Now? "Hey, I don't have time to decipher your riddles. What the hell are you trying to tell me?" I was getting impatient. Everyone seriously expected me to unravel the mystery of a medallion, a prophecy, and now these riddles? Well, everyone had their standards set a little too high.

"Morning never lasts longer than a few hours," Cináed said thoughtfully.

"Yes, but courage can only take a man so far," argued Adara.

My father watched the rolling of the clouds, pondering. "But the mist usually goes out when the morning ceases," he stated.

"But greatness can last forever, unless the hero is corrupted. And leaves don't always grow back…" Adara said, trailing off.

I gaped at them. What in the world were they babbling about? It made _no_ sense.

Adara glanced at Cináed. "Who do you think it'll be?" she asked.

Cináed considered this for a moment, rubbing a beard that wasn't there. Finally, he said, "The badger," in a very definite tone.

Adara's expression showed her agreement. "Just what I was thinking," she said.

And then, they seemed to wisp away into the clouds, leaving me clueless and frustrated and just plain angry.

***AN: Is anyone else's traffic thing not working? Mine's saying I've gotten NO hits on ANY of my stories for three days now. I need to find the email address and let them know the problem. Well, I hope you enjoyed this eight page chapter. It was fun. Now I'm thinking... I didn't exactly plan this whole thing out. I'm trying to decide how long it will take to end this thing. Ponder, ponder, think, think... **

**Don't forget to do the poll. Since I'm brainstorming the ending, your votes mean more now than ever before. Help me to decide how to end my story!*  
**


	27. Riddle Me This

_"So go and riddle me over, I'm a man got nothing to show for, my work in the ground. Got my back to the fire, but it ain't the bridges that are falling down" - State Radio "Riddle in Londontown"_

27 Riddle Me This

Brock turned his water bottle upside down, hoping for a small drop. Nothing came. "Uh, guys," he called, "I'm kinda out of water."

Drew tossed him his bottle. "Don't drink it all, I'm low too."

Running out of water was the worst thing that could happen to us remaining survivors. Dying of thirst… how awful would that be?

I didn't voice my fears, remaining silent until everyone was ready to go. I gathered up my few things and we headed out the cave.

Leaves were everywhere. They blanketed the ground in a green carpet, making the hard mountain trail soft underfoot. I didn't know how bad my feet had been hurting until I remembered what soft felt like.

Misty was watching me carefully. I kept my head down, indifferent to her stares as I pondered every dilemma we would encounter. There was the problem of water, food, not to mention the hundreds of tricks Yacaeli had up her sleeve. She was probably planning another one now. Oh Arceus, what would we have to endure next? What the hell were Adara and Cináed talking about when they—?

"Ash?" Misty said.

My thoughts were suddenly cut short. "Huh?" I replied, and mentally kicked myself. Not the most intelligent reply there ever was.

She blinked. "You're being very quiet," she remarked. "Are you sick?"

"What, I'm suddenly not allowed to be quiet?" I snapped.

Misty didn't even flinch. Instead, her face took on a fighting expression. "No, it's just that peace and quiet is so rare around you that I immediately wondered if there was something wrong."

"Does that mean my talking annoys you, Misty?" I asked furiously.

"Oh no," she said with feigned innocence. "Just that you never shut up."

I never wanted to hit a girl so much. I couldn't believe this was the same woman I wanted to confess my undying love to and kiss so passionately that she would never think of anything else. Love is a pain, isn't it?

"For your information," I said, sick of arguing, "I was trying to figure out our survival for the remainder of our time on this Arceus forsaken mountain. Sure you want to keep bothering me?"

Misty shrugged. "Depends. If that's the reaction I get, I'm through."

I nodded. "Good. Want to help me solve a riddle?"

She put on an expression of fake exasperation. "Ugh. Fine, what is it?" she said sarcastically.

I smirked. "I had a dream that the badger was next. What does that mean?"

"Did anything else happen in this dream?" Misty asked, trying to hide how interested she was. Misty loved a good riddle.

"Yeah, actually. My dad told me the badger was next, after going through a bunch of nonsense words, and then my grandmother agreed with him. And it ended."

Her face was priceless. "What?" she said, confused beyond all reason.

I sighed. "I thought you could help!" I glanced at the yellow mouse on my shoulder. "Didn't you think she could help?"

Misty was about to retort with something vicious, but Leaf unintentionally interrupted her. "Waterfall," Leaf announced.

The term "waterfall" set off all sorts of alarm bells in my head. I instantly thought of the water falling down the side of the mountain and trying to sweep us away. "Where?" I cried in panic.

Leaf pointed. "Right there."

She was ahead of us, pointing to where I couldn't see. It seemed like everything important on this mountain was where I couldn't see. I went to stand next to Leaf to see what she was pointing at.

What I saw took my breath away.

It was a beautiful, enchanting waterfall. Silver blue water cascaded from the summit into a shimmering pool. It was crystal clear, smelling of the freshest air, and made only the softest _shh_ing sound.

"Wow," Dawn gasped.

I didn't allow myself to be captured for more than a second. What if it was another trap, like the glass castle? That was beautiful, too, but how could I forget the monster of bodies lurking inside it? I shuddered at the memory. It wouldn't have surprised me if something similar were hiding on the other side of the falls.

"Look," Drew said. "There's the peak. See? The top of the mountain! We're almost there!"

"I'm going swimming!" Misty called, already rushing towards the water.

My eyes went wide with fear and I raced forward, looping my arm around Misty and pulling her back. I felt like a cowboy lassoing a colt. "Don't just run in like that! It could be a trap! Maybe the water's poisonous and it'll burn your skin off! Great Arceus, Misty, are you freaking _crazy?_"

Misty paused, then met my worried gaze with a glare. "Fine," she spat, and she unlatched my arm from around her. "Test it, then let me know."

I exhaled in relief. Misty was only being mean because I was right. I wanted to test the water, make sure it was safe, because then we wouldn't die of thirst. But if it wasn't, we were dead for sure.

Suddenly, a blur of pink went flying by, followed by one of green. They circled us three times, and then disappeared.

****************************************************************Paragraph Break*********************************************************

"Here Jessie," Meowth said. "I gotcha more water."

Jessie drank deeply. "Thank you," she said forcibly. "James needs some too."

James was finally awake, but he was in a lot of pain. Meowth held the makeshift bowl he had made from the plastic of the balloon under James's chapped lips. He swallowed a little bit at a time, as his scalded throat could only handle so much. "M-more please, Meowth," he begged.

Meowth nodded and scampered back to the waterfall. He cupped the plastic in his paws and dipped it in the water. The crater in the plastic filled with the sparkling water.

There was a noise. Meowth jumped, but he did not lose his grip on the plastic. There were others here. His ear twitched as he listened.

"…are you freaking _crazy?_" someone shouted.

Was that…? No, it couldn't be! But if it was, they could help Jessie and James…

Something rocketed past him. He lost his balance and teetered into the water, landing with a splash. He started yelling. "Ya stupid dimwit doncha know that I'm a CAT and that cats hate WATA? Get me outta here right this instant before I go and drown!"

"Can it, freak!" called a voice.

Meowth scowled. He looked up in the air and saw a streak of pink go soaring over his head, followed by a tiny blur of green. "Who ya callin' freak, ya flying hedgehog?" he countered. He continued to grumble as he flailed his way towards shore, shook himself off, and went to find the twerps.

*************************************************************Paragraph Break************************************************************

Mew came to a halt in midair. "Holy me, there are _humans_ here!" She gazed down at the group of creatures that were unmistakably humans, shocked. "Father doesn't know about this!"

Shaymin giggled, doing a roll in the air. "So? Let's just get Suicune and get out of here."

Mew ignored him and continued to look at the humans. They seemed very familiar.

"Stay here," she commanded. "I need to check something." With that, she zoomed down to the ground. She went past a Meowth and caused him to fall into the water, but she decided not to worry about it. Mew took three circles around the group of humans, even the two standing apart from the others, and got a good look.

Shaymin followed her, of course. The turd. She heard him yell at the Meowth. It annoyed her greatly. Why couldn't the little hedgehog just do as he was told? At least _listen_ to her!

Lucario always listened. Shaymin should be more like Lucario.

Mew blinked as she hovered high in the air. Lucario… that was how she knew the humans! When she first met him, it was because of the boy with black hair! And the boy with black hair was also the reason she went to where Mewtwo was trying to take over the world. The boy was pure of heart.

He watched the girl with red hair storm back to the rest of the group, and Mew observed him with interest. Strange how he always showed up where she happened to be. Why in her father's name would he be on this mountain?

Mew made a face. "Come on, Shaymin," she said, not even looking at the green hedgehog. "Let's go kick our mom off her mountain."

*************************************************************Paragraph Break************************************************************

"What was that?" Dawn asked, looking around wildly. She and Leaf were utterly confused, and at any other time it would've been comical. But right now I was about to start copying them. I had no clue what the heck had just flown past our heads.

"Probably another one of Yacaeli's traps," Drew growled. His fists clenched and began to shake. "When that cat shows her face, I'm going to kill her."

*************************************************************Paragraph Break************************************************************

Yacaeli dug her claws into the mountain. Her rage was reaching a boiling point. Her senses were blurred by her anger, and it just made her madder. She could _feel_ Arceus; feel that he wanted her gone. And the humans not more than two hundred feet from her summit were enough to set her off.

She bared her teeth to the sky, a low growl escalating into a tremendous roar. Every Pokemon on earth responded with fury and the lust for blood. It didn't matter whose.

*************************************************************Paragraph Break************************************************************

Pikachu cringed and slid off my shoulder. I jumped and knelt down next to him. "What's the matter?" I cried.

He seemed to convulse, and his tiny body spasmed. Panic flooded me. Was he dying? No! Not Pikachu too!

The rest of my pokeballs began to quiver on my belt. Misty's were already breaking free, escaping in bright flashes of light. Drew dropped his bag in fright, trying to avoid his now rogue Pokemon as they stampeded out. Brock and Dawn's were still fighting, but Dawn's Piplup was already out and attacking her.

Pikachu suddenly flipped over and bit at my face. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding his advance. My other Pokemon were bursting out of their pokeballs, and I could hear them going on the attack.

Something growled. I heard Drew scream in pain. I whipped my head around and saw him clutching his arm. His Absol had bit him.

Drew gave a mighty kick and the white Pokemon went flying. It hit its head on a rock, and it went still.

I felt a shock of pain go through me, but I was used to Pikachu's electric attacks. He leaped up, landing on my shoulder, and it looked like he was getting ready to bite me.

Hurriedly I twisted, knocking him off. I hated to do it, but clearly he was trying to kill me. My Quilava attacked me from behind, and searing hot flames burned my back. I fell backwards, landing on it hard. Staraptor came to its defense and perched on my chest. My eyes went wide when I saw this, and I writhed to avoid his vicious beak. Instead, he stabbed into Quilava.

Quilava let me go in pain from Staraptor's beak, and I punched the bird in the face. He recoiled and flapped his wings, sending him skywards. I rolled off of Quilava, dodged Heracross's horn, and bowled into Dawn's Togekiss.

The Pokemon skidded through the air, and Dawn jumped to her feet. "Thanks!" she called. She gasped and bent out of range of her Mamoswine's deadly horns. Her hand curled around her knife.

I left her to defend herself and looked for Misty. She was fending off her Corsola and Starmie at once, and doing just fine. Brock was keeping his Sudowoodo at bay while he bashed his Croagunk on the head with his backpack.

Max was pinning his Kirlia to the ground, and it clearly pained him to do so. Leaf had a Pokemon that kept changing fighting with her. I realized it was a Ditto, mimicking all of our Pokemon.

"Take dat, ya doity twoips! And dat! And dis!" someone was yelling.

"Meowth?" I said, shocked.

He landed in front of me, paws ready to attack. I cocked my head to the side, confused, because he didn't have any claws. "Dat's right, ya little pipsqueak. Get ready for da beating of your life!" He launched himself at me.

I sidestepped the attack and the cat went careening past me. There were more pressing issues.

Pikachu skidded in front of me, kicking up dust as he came to a halt. The fiercest expression rested on his face. There was no doubt in his mind that he could kill me, apparently. No doubt in mine, either.

"Pika!" he cried, and his cheeks sparked. His entire being began to flash. I winced, knowing the pain that was going to come. I had to time my maneuver just right or I would be barbecued by my own Pokemon.

Then, for some reason, Pikachu's face went blank. He stopped flashing with electric power, sat on his haunches, and did nothing.

I blinked. A stunned silence filled the air. All the Pokemon had ceased fighting, backed off, and sat down uselessly. I blinked again. No way had it just ended like that.

And then the bracelet got _really, really_ hot.

Evidently, the danger I had just been experiencing with my Pokemon hadn't been life threatening. Whatever was coming next was going to wreak havoc on our little expedition group.

I heard a strange sliding sound, like a stick being scraped in the dirt times a hundred. When it stopped, a few pebbles landed in the water. So it had come from above. I looked up.

The waterfall still fell as silently as possible. Rocks jutted out around it, making ledges that were far too accessible from above. Which was how Yacaeli came down the mountain.

She was as magnificent as the legend had described her. Glorious white wings unfurled from her creamy back, poised for flight. Even from down below, I could see the shine of her moonlike eyes. Unnatural designs swirled up her legs, and they seemed to glow. A stark black stripe was visible, beginning at the crown of her head.

Yacaeli smiled, as strange as that sounds. Her bright eyes glistened with rage. She opened her deadly lion jaw, and legitimate human speech came out.

"Hello," she said. "Having a good time?"

Oh great. She had a sense of humor. I just _love_ foes that rub their superiority in your face. The fact that she was standing above us the way a dictator would made me bristle with fury.

Brock, ever the comic, had to respond. "Yes, actually. Getting mauled by my own Pokemon is a favorite pastime of mine."

Yacaeli's eyes glared at him with such anger I thought he would erupt in flames.

"Wonderful," she said, deciding to ignore him. "You haven't gotten water yet, right?"

"Don't answer," Misty growled.

"Not a drop!" Brock replied enthusiastically.

Yacaeli's face twisted into a sick smirk. "Good. I think I'll grant you one more challenge before you come to meet me." She waved her tail. A golden mist seemed to form out of the air, and sprinkled itself over the water. "A riddle to keep you busy while you pine for water."

"A riddle? That's it?" Brock cried.

"Brock," I muttered, warning.

"Listen to your friend," growled Yacaeli. "He's smarter than he looks."

I made a face up at the cat. "Thanks," I called.

She paid me no mind. Brock had pissed her off enough. "You will not drink until you solve the riddle," she said. Suddenly, she jumped off the ledge.

I panicked, ducking down with the hope that she would crash into the ground and perish, but that's not what happened. Yacaeli snapped out her wings at the last second, and ascended upwards. I heard her laughing as she flew away.

"Holy shit," Drew mumbled. He was getting back to his feet shakily, having hit the deck as I had. "That cat's crazy."

"Brock?" Dawn cried, fear alive in her voice. "Where's Brock?"

I jumped to my feet. _We can't have lost another one_, I thought. _No no no not Brock too._

My eyes searched the skies. I wanted to see that devil Yacaeli and tell her exactly what I thought of her and her little—

Wait. Was she carrying Brock?

Yes, she was. Yacaeli had the Breeder dangling from her paws. He was flailing and fighting, but it didn't throw off her flight at all. They continued to climb, until they disappeared in the clouds and I could see them no more.

Somewhere around there, I remembered the meaning of Brock's name.

"No!" Meowth cried. I looked down and saw the cat Pokemon kneeling by the water. He tried to scoop his paw down, but it was as if he kept missing. "What am I gonna do? Jessie and James are gonna _die_!" And then, the cat started crying.

It was about the most pitiful thing I had ever seen. He sat on his tail, tears streaming from his eyes, and bawled like a hungry baby.

I couldn't just stand there and watch him cry. Forcing an encouraging smile, I knelt down next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back. "Hey," I began, and he looked at me. "It's going to be alright. We'll just solve this riddle and get going. Sound good?"

Meowth sniffed and wiped his nose. I was reminded of Max. "I'm trusting you twoip. If dis doesn't woik, I'm takin' your Pikachu and handing him to Giovanni on a silver platter."

I made a wry face and nodded. "Sure, sure, whatever makes you happy. Now how do we hear this riddle?" I stepped over to the pool, staring into the depths. The water looked no different than before.

Drew was over by the body of his Absol. "Oh God," he said, and he choked off a sob. "I killed it. I killed Absol."

So many things had happened at once. Misty was consoling Drew, Max was freaking out because Brock was gone, Dawn and Leaf were confused, Meowth was crying, and all the other Pokemon were just sitting around like dolls. So, at the moment, no one seemed to have their head on straight, save for me, which wasn't really an asset.

I stared at the water, and it rippled with the flow of the waterfall. Disbelieving, I extended my hand to reach into the cool depths. My hand seemed to be afraid of the water, bending this way and that to avoid touching it.

My eyes narrowed as I glared at the water. We needed it so desperately, or we would die or at least be weak when we reached the top of the mountain. I felt a little ridiculous, but I took a deep breath and spoke to the water.

"Um… oh great pond of water, show us the riddle, so that we may, er, drink from your crystal depths."

I hadn't really expected it to do anything, but to my surprise the water rippled and began to wave. Shimmering golden letters appeared, wrinkling in the water. The riddle faded in line by line, moving so much in the water that the letters looked blurry to me. But I managed to read it, and this was the riddle:

_There's not a creature beneath the sky, _

_Can keep secrets as faithfully as I _

_All things for safety are to me consigned, _

_Although I often leave them far behind _

_I never act but by another's will, _

_And what he commands I must fulfill_

"Oh that looks friendly," Misty noted. She had brought the severely upset Drew over to sit beside me, granting me company. "Of all the riddles I've seen, that's probably the most menacing."

"I love your vocabulary terms in describing _words_," I said snidely.

"We'll solve it," Dawn said too cheerily. She came to stand behind me, bending over my shoulder to read the puzzle. Leaf stood by her side, nodding. "We'll get our revenge. Yacaeli will never beat us."

"She already _has_ beaten some of us," I heard Max say; although I think I was the only one who heard him.

Drew was on my other side, nursing the wound his Absol had given him with angry tears in his eyes. "I hate this," he whispered. "I'm sick of being the plaything of a Pokemon with PMS."

My brow knit worriedly. "Drew, I—."

"She's toying with us, Ash," he interrupted, "and you know it."

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Tenebri's eyes were wide with shock. She cowered in the shadowy ledge, near Absol's strong legs. "She just picked that human off the ground," she breathed. "Like a bird snatching its dinner."

Absol stood tall and strong. "She will pay for her crimes," he growled. "I just watched one of my brothers die at the hands of his own Trainer, for something he had no control over. I will never forgive that cat." The Genesis Stone glinted ominously around his neck. "I will strip her of her powers, and then I will tear her throat out, and then I will present her head to Arceus. He'll use her pelt as a rug in the Hall of Origin, and every time I enter I will race over her fur, and I will _laugh_."

Tenebri looked confused. She tilted her head up to look at Absol, and saw the determined face of a Pokemon who would not give up. A smile began to form on her face. Absol would kill Yacaeli. Tenebri would win.

*******************************************Hooray for the chapter with the most Paragraph Breaks!***********************************************

Far, far down in the ruined city of Oupavos, the survivors of the Pokemon rampage were struggling to recoup. They stood in sorrow as they gazed at their ruined homes and businesses, at their proud, demolished stadium. They had lost everything, and they were terrified.

A beautiful woman with stark white hair and flashing yellow eyes walked down the street, a rose in a yard of death and destruction. She strolled with ambition, heading for the trampled woods and, eventually, the mountain.

It was the single greatest thing that had ever happened to her. She had been digging her possessions out of her ruined house when the calling came. Yata had felt a probing in her mind, as if someone were knocking on her mental door. Puzzled, Yata had allowed them in, wondering what it could be.

_Hello, Yata,_ they had said. _You have grown into a fine young woman._

Yata hadn't replied, just stood there in stunned silence.

_I can tell you are surprised to hear from me. Or perhaps you don't know who I am? I am your namesake, child. They call me Yacaeli._

At this point, Yata had felt her legs go weak. She had fallen to her knees and allowed silent tears to flow down her cheeks. Yacaeli was real. And now she was calling on her faithful disciple to serve her. She had even called her a fine young woman!

_I need your help, child,_ Yacaeli had continued.

"Anything," Yata had whispered. "Anything, my goddess."

Thus, Yata strutted towards the mountain, ignoring the stares she got from the "nonbelievers." This was her chance to prove what she could do. Yacaeli had called upon her.

She wasn't about to let her down.

***AN: So, this chapter took a while cuz I went on vacation! Yes, yes, I left the home. This is a special thanks to _Amber Ice Fox _for feeding my cat and chickens. Love ya, girl! And I will now go to sleep, because I have a lot to do tomorrow. Bye peeps.***


	28. Obviously

_"Please tell me what is taking place? 'Cos I can't seem to find a trace, guess it must have got erased somehow. Probably 'cos, I always forget, every time someone tells me their name, it's always gotta be the same" - Avril Lavigne "My World"_

28 Obviously

"I hate riddles," Dawn whimpered. "They make my head hurt."

For the moment, she seemed to have forgotten about Paul, and none of us were keen to remind her. She and Leaf got along splendidly, distracting each other from the pain they were feeling and successfully _not_ solving the riddle.

Leaf was trying to walk on the water, seeing as you couldn't actually touch it. It was working pretty well, even though she kept losing her balance. It looked like she was walking on a bunch of balls that kept rolling out from under her feet. It was about the funniest thing I'd seen this whole journey.

Drew was still in his moderately depressed state about his Absol. I think everything was starting to build up, and soon, Drew would snap from the pressure. Losing May, Paul, his prize Pokemon, and now Brock was probably killing him inside. The thought of Drew going berserk wasn't one I liked to grace my mind with. I shrugged it off and focused on the riddle.

"What does 'consigned' even mean?" I exclaimed. I attempted to splash the water in aggravation, but of course I couldn't touch it.

"It means entrusted," Misty said. She was entirely focused on the water, her eyes hungry. "All things are entrusted to him to keep safe."

"How do you know it's a him?" I questioned.

She rolled her eyes. "I prefer to say him rather than 'it' or 'her' believe it or not. So we're going to pretend it's a him."

I smiled. "Okay, whatever makes you happy, princess."

Misty didn't look away from the water, but I saw her smirk turn into a scowl. "Do you want to solve this riddle on your own?"

"No! I'm sorry! Don't leave me to my own devices on this kind of thing, you _know_ my brain will explode!"

Her smirk came back. "That's what I thought." She refocused on the pool. "If it's very good at keeping secrets, then I guess it can't talk, right?"

"Um, yeah, sure," I replied intelligently.

"It keeps things safe, but from afar," she continued to murmur, as if I hadn't spoken. "It can't act for itself, and it must do whatever the other says." Abruptly she smacked herself in the head. "Jeez, where's Brock when you need him? Even P—." She stopped short, remembering Dawn right behind her. "Brock was much better at riddles than I am," she finished lamely.

"I can help," I offered.

Misty sighed. "I'm glad you're trying," she said, "but I don't think you'll be much help."

It stung, of course, but she was right. I sat back and remembered that I had another riddle to solve. With an exasperated sigh, I pulled out the medallion and began staring at it.

My mind wandered. _Should I go see Jessie and James, make sure they're alright? Maybe Dawn could go, because she knows medical stuff and could help, and Leaf could go be her assistant. Leaf… where do I know her from? She seems so familiar. I'm tagging her to Gary, for some reason. I can't believe Gary sent us on this death hunt. Wasn't he supposed to be guiding us? The fagot should've come with us! Arceus, I hate his guts. Calling me a loser every time he saw me. Dangling his car keys in front of me like—_

I stopped mid thought. No way. Did I seriously just solve the riddle? I looked at the medallion. There was the picture of the key, looking right back at me.

All the answers were right in front of me. I just didn't know what they were.

"Misty," I said slowly.

She looked around. "What?"

"I got it," I told her, and the most devilish smile played on my lips. I scrambled over to sit next to her, shoving the medallion in her face. "It's a key," I went on, extra excited. "Get it? A key can keep secrets because it locks them away, it keeps your things safe even though its not guarding them, and it can't act on its own because it's an inanimate object, and thus it must do whatever we tell it!"

Misty's face went from confused to understanding in a second. "Oh my gosh," she breathed. "You're right. It's a key." She turned to the water. "A key."

The riddle faded away, but other than that, nothing changed. I feared for a moment that we'd gotten it wrong, but then Leaf gave a frightened scream, and she plummeted into the water.

"We got it!" I cheered. "YES! I did it! Let it be known that on this day in history, Ash Ketchum solved a riddle!"

"Hold your applause," Misty muttered.

I pulled out my water bottle and unscrewed the cap, dunking it into the cool freshness of the water. It was the sweetest water I'd ever tasted.

**********************************************************Paragraph Break. Tada********************************************************

Jessie and James drank the water gratefully. "Twerp," Jessie gasped when she'd drank her fill, "why are you on this mountain?"

I shrugged and continued to tilt the bottle to James's lips. "I don't know. I'm supposed to kill a sky cat, I think."

"You're crazier than I thought," James remarked, and I tilted the bottle more to shut him up.

"You'll get yourself killed!" cried Meowth.

"Probably," I said. "She's already killed May and Paul."

"The one with the bandana?" Jessie said, shocked. I nodded, and she looked sorrowful. "I always liked her. Good Contest competition."

I nodded again, feeling depressed. "Look," I said, standing up, "I've got to go up the rest of the way and slay a lion. I'm sorry, but you guys will have to stay here by yourselves."

"You'll come back for us, though, right?" James begged.

"If I come back," I replied. I placed the water bottle at James's head. "Here. Meowth can help you if you need it."

James nodded. "Please," he said. "Don't die. We'll be out of a job."

I stared at him quizzically. "Okay then!" I said finally. "I'll see you guys later, uh, enjoy the water, and, um, stay safe. All that stuff. You know."

Meowth nodded. "Don't you worry, you guys! I'll protect ya!"

Jessie and James didn't look too thrilled, but they nodded quietly and bade me goodbye. I allowed Pikachu to scamper up my shoulder, and we made our way to the campsite.

I don't know why we weren't staying with Team Rocket; probably old rivalries were preventing us from doing so. We were camped further along the trail, bottles full of water and stomachs stuffed with the remainders of the marshmallows. Leaf was shivering from being dropped in the water, and the fire wasn't helping her dry. It was too small.

I sat down and immediately began inspecting the medallion. If it gave me one answer, it was bound to give me others. The key had solved the riddle, and the fire was probably the bracelet, but what about the rest? It was very vague. I couldn't understand the one with the birds in dresses. It was too ridiculous to make sense.

With my lips pursed, I placed it on the ground next to me. There was no chatter around the fire tonight. In fact, Dawn, Drew, and Max were all asleep (yeah, right. More like lying down with their eyes squeezed shut). Misty was the only one awake, and all she was doing was staring into the fire. I sighed, stood up, and relocated to next to her. She gave me a side glance as a greeting.

"Nice to see you too," I replied.

"Oh shut up," she snapped back. Misty rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired and I can't sleep."

"If you lay down next to me, do you think you'll sleep better?"

"I don't have time for this, Ash, I just—."

"I'm serious," I said, cutting her off. "Misty, one more day and we'll be at the top of the mountain, I can feel it. I don't want something to happen like with Dawn and Paul where they bit each other's heads off and then never said what was important."

Misty bit her lip, looking a little nervous. "So, you think that one of us will… die… up there?"

I nodded gravely. "Yes, I do. If not both of us."

Misty exhaled uneasily. "Okay," she said in a shaky voice. "Then here's a preemptive apology."

"For wha—?" I began, and then she hit me. A powerful, knuckle-cracking, oh-Arceus-I-could've-sworn-I-just-got-punched-by-Arnold-Schwarzenegger hit. I recoiled, reeling back and finally falling over. "Jeez, Misty, what the hell was that for? What, is it Beat On Ash Week? Mew, that hurt!"

"I said sorry," she commented.

"But _why_ did you do that?" I pleaded. "What did I do?"

"You rejected my confession of undying love to you," she said simply.

I gaped, struggling to sit up again while I massaged my poor bicep. "What confession?" I asked.

"I said, 'I love you, Ash, and always will' and you said 'I will never feel the same way, we can no longer be friends', so I punched you," explained Misty.

I blinked, shaking my head. "Wait—what? That never happened!"

"I told you it was preemptive, because it's going to happen." Misty seemed unnaturally calm.

"No, it's not going to happen!" I cried. "Because I'm going to beat you to it."

She lost her calm demeanor, and became extremely confused. "Huh?"

"I'm going to confess my undying love first, and throw off your entire plan," I elaborated. "So, you had no need to give me your preemptive rejection punch."

Misty's jaw was on the floor. "You lost me. Go back a little."

"I said I love you, and now you need to take back your punch," I repeated.

As I watched, her lips began to curve into a smile. "Sorry, one more time," she said.

With a sarcastic roll of my eyes, I wrapped an exasperated arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you," I said, staring deeply into her eyes. "And if you didn't hear it that time, you need to swim a little less. Obviously there's a lot of water in your ears."

"Do you mean it?" she asked, sounding excited.

"I just said it three times! And _then_ I kissed you. How much more proof do you need?" I was grinning. She looked so goofy, excited like she was. "Speaking of which, I don't think I heard _you_ say the magic words yet."

"Fine, I love you too," she laughed. "But I don't take back my punch."

"Why not?"

"Because it was too much fun to hit you," she replied.

I smirked. "Oh really?" I gently bopped her on the head. "There. Now we're even."

She beamed. "Even?" she repeated. "But I didn't kiss you yet!"

"I'm waiting…" I teased.

Misty exhaled through her nostrils. She flipped a stray bit of hair out of her face, placed her arms around my neck, and leaned up.

There is nothing more amazing in the world than being kissed by Misty. Her lips fit perfectly with mine, and they're softer than clouds. I could smell the chlorine from all her days at the Gym, mixed wonderfully with the citrus perfume she always wore. It was amazing that the smells hadn't faded from all our time on the mountain, or maybe it was just my imagination putting them there. Whatever. Not like the reason mattered, because here I was, kissing Misty for the fourth time. I didn't count the ones in the castle.

I kissed her back deeply. It was wonderful that we could enjoy this blissful moment, when deep down we knew just how awful it all was. It was great that we could wear this mask of happiness, because if we couldn't, I would have been sobbing with fear.

********************************************************Aw, wasn't that cute?***********************************************************

Mew watched the humans from above. Shaymin was asleep, thank Arceus, and silent. She cocked her head to the side as Ash and the girl with orange hair put their mouths together, and sighed. Human love was so beautiful. That had to be why Father kept them alive.

She floated up into the cloudy night, her eyes shining. The humans were laughing at each other. Mew wished she could see the stars, because Lucario always watched the stars. It would have given her comfort to know she was looking at the same stars he was. But alas, the thick blanket of dark clouds blocked her view.

The humans kissed again, and Mew found it wonderfully romantic. She wanted to be human, so she could kiss like that. It was certainly a fantastic feeling, or else humans wouldn't do it. It made her giddy just thinking about it.

After a little more bantering and one last kiss, the humans snuggled into their sleeping cocoons and went to sleep. Mew pouted, sad the romance was over. She glanced over her shoulder. Shaymin was still asleep. Silently, she rose up and soared down to the humans.

There were six humans. The four that hadn't been kissing tossed and turned in their sleep, making angry and sobbing noises. Mew stared at them curiously. What were they dreaming about?

She hovered over the little boy. He slept with circles on his eyes, a thing humans called glasses. Gently, she took her paws and lifted the glasses off his face. With a curious expression, she set them on her nose, peering through the lenses.

And Mew saw a truly different world.

Everything was blurry. Things that were normally so clearly defined were fuzzy through the glasses. It hurt her head to look through. She winced in pain.

But there was something that she hadn't seen without the glasses. Strange streaks of glowing light shimmered in various places. It looked like someone with stars for feet had made a path through the air. She took the glasses off with her tail, and the paths were gone. She put them back on, and there they were again.

Curious, Mew placed the glasses back on the boy's face. She wanted to follow the trails, but not before she explored the other humans.

She floated over to the boy with green hair. He slept fitfully, clutching an orange bit of cloth in his hands. He kept muttering to himself, but Mew couldn't understand what.

The girl with blue hair cried in her sleep. Salty tears ran down her pale cheeks, and her face was screwed up in pain. Mew hovered right in front of her face, an inch away from the girl's nose. She felt awful for her. There was a sorrowful aura emitting from the girl. Mew didn't like it. Looking for her next subject, Mew left the crying girl alone.

Ash and the girl with red hair were sleeping close together. Mew floated down between them, looking from one to the other. They slept peacefully compared to the others.

"Pi?"

Mew looked up. A tiny yellow Pikachu was sitting up, one ear up in suspicion. "Hi," Mew greeted.

The Pikachu scratched his ear. "Hey," he replied. "Long time no see."

Mew blinked. Now she remembered! The Pikachu was always with the boy, every time she saw him. "Your master is very nice," she said.

"Yeah, he is," Pikachu agreed. He looked at Ash sadly. "I don't know why, but lately I keep waking up and thinking I hurt him in my sleep. And he acts like I did." Pikachu stared at Mew helplessly. "Am I hurting him?"

"Probably," Mew said. She floated up with her feet behind her head, like a child. "Yacaeli's using you against him."

Pikachu's eyes grew outraged. "I knew it!" he cried. "That stupid cat, wait till I get my paws on her, I'll—."

"You can't," Mew interrupted. "She controls you, remember?" Her tail waved, and she made a grab for it.

The yellow mouse looked desperate. "But you've got to help me! You're a Legendary; she can't control you, right?"

Mew snagged her tail, but she looked distracted. "I suppose…"

"Then you can be there and protect Ash from me!" Pikachu exclaimed. "This is perfect!"

"Um…" Mew began, but she never got anywhere on the thought.

"Oh, thank you, Mew, this is splendid!" Pikachu went on. "I am forever in your debt. Do you accept ketchup as payment?"

"Listen," Mew said firmly. She fixed the mouse with a hard stare, giving him her entire attention. "I can't do that. I'm here to save my brother Suicune and that's it. Well, nephew, I guess, because he was created by Ho-oh and Ho-oh is my brother, but it doesn't matter. I can't help you with your master, I'm sorry."

Pikachu's eyes filled with angry tears. "But he saved you! You've worked together twice!" He looked away furiously. "Why did I think I could trust a Legendary? They always stab you in the back!"

Mew felt horrible. The Pikachu had trusted her, even saved her life once, and she had let him down. Lucario would never have condoned such behavior.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Mew snapped. "Listen, I'll do my best, alright? But I'm not supposed to help the humans. Father doesn't even know they're here." She sighed. "I can't do much, but I can give you this." She leaned down and gave the Pikachu a gruff lick. "There," she said proudly.

Pikachu looked puzzled. "Uh, thanks?"

"It's my blessing," Mew told him. "Yacaeli can no longer touch you."

His eyes lit up like the stars did when Lucario was with her. "Really? Thank you so much, Mew! This is fantastic! You are the best, really! I am forever yours to call on. I'll give you all my ketchup!"

Mew giggled. "You don't have to. I owed you, and now we're even. Tomorrow, we will fight side by side in battle."

"It will be an honor," Pikachu breathed.

"Oh!" Mew exclaimed. "One more thing. When Arceus made Yacaeli, he made sure she couldn't kill humans with her powers. The only way she can take a human's life is if she uses her claws or teeth. Not even things she controls can kill them."

His eyes widened in understanding. "So May and Paul are…"

She nodded. "They must be."

**************************************************************I love Mew*************************************************************

Tenebri could feel the power of Yacaeli in her bones. The summit was mere feet away. Tomorrow, she would strike, and Yacaeli would fall, and no one would dare to think Tenebri was weak. Never again would they mock her, demean her, or do anything of the sort. Because then Yacaeli's powers would be hers.

And she would be stronger than Arceus himself.

*****************************************************************Tenebri!*************************************************************

Yacaeli allowed Yata to ride on her back, though begrudgingly so. The human dug her knees into her sides and pulled her fur with her fingers. She carried her up the mountain as quickly as she could, eager to be rid of her.

"What do you want me to do, my goddess?" Yata asked. Her tone said that she would pick the mountain up and carry it all the way to Spear Pillar if that was what Yacaeli wished.

Yacaeli had to smirk. It was too easy. "There are other humans on this mountain," she said in a low voice. "You have met them before."

Yata blinked. "I have?"

"Yes," hissed the cat. "And I want you to meet them as they come up the mountain, and kill as many as you can."

"Kill other people?" Yata questioned. "You want me to kill people I know?"

"At least injure them, my servant," Yacaeli conceded, but her face had gone from smirk to sneer. "Slow them down, I don't care _how _you do it, I just want it done."

Yata hesitated. "I have no weapon," she protested. Clearly she was glad she'd found an excuse.

Yacaeli chuckled. "My dear," laughed the Sky Cat, "you were given two hands, two legs, and a lithe and speedy form. Did you think it was just luck? This is what you were made for."

"To kill others?"

"Indeed, Yata. This is the time to fulfill your destiny." Yacaeli's eyes glowed in the night. "This is the time."

***AN: I love that romance part up there. And I love Mew. This chapter, I overall loved. And I did not make that riddle up there. I found it online. It's pretty good though, eh? Don't forget to do the poll, folks! The end is near! I can feel it.  
**

**I just got a necklace with a glass charm that honest to God looks like my ideal image of a kissy fishy. I'm thrilled. Just thought you should know that. Gonna go read my buddy The Color is Blinding's iCarly story now. Supposed to be the best she's ever done! So, iCarly fans, I suggest you go check her out. She's an awesome writer. We're actually planning on doing a dual story together, and it will be epic. Parody epic, that is. Anyways, ciao.*  
**


	29. I May Hate Cats, But Not Enough for This

_"Dear agony, just let go of me, suffer slowly, is this the way it's got to be? Don't bury me, faceless enemy, I'm so sorry, is this the way it's gotta be? Dear agony" - Breaking Benjamin "Dear Agony"_

29 I May Hate Cats, But Not Enough for This

We slept for a long time. Too long. I couldn't see the sun, and the clouds made it seem like it was morning all day long, but I knew that we had allowed ourselves too much rest. I could feel it in the air.

It was weirdly quiet on the mountain since the Pokemon had deserted it. Now it was just us, Team Rocket, and one Sky Cat. Pikachu seemed perkier than usual, happily jumping on and off my shoulder and skittering around with glee. I couldn't fathom why he would be happy at a time like this.

Dawn had her knife out in a shaking hand, quivering so badly it was a blur. It was hard to tell if she was scared or cold, but there wasn't much I could do for her. I was terrified, I was freezing, and I was the only one not allowed to be either.

Max kept rubbing his eyes. I was worried that something was wrong with him, and if he got hurt, I would feel as if I had betrayed May. He had to be my main concern when we fought Yacaeli.

Leaf and Dawn stood very close to each other, silent and scared. Drew kept an arm around Max, like an older brother. Misty caught my eye occasionally, and she didn't try to hide how terrified she was.

I looked to the dark clouds above. They rolled and furled menacingly. I could honestly feel the air darken; a horrible, foreboding feeling.

"Okay," I said quietly, but it seemed to echo around the entire mountain. "Let's go."

"About time!"

I jumped and whipped around. "Who's there?" I said, my voice much higher than I wanted.

One instant, there was nothing there. Then, quick as a feline, she was right in front of us.

I had completely forgotten about Yata. The same long legs were now covered by sleek black pants, and she wore a shirt that showed her stomach, similar to the one we had met her in. Her platinum blonde hair was combed so thoroughly it looked sharp, like it could slice something in half. Her Glameow slunk around her legs.

But it was her eyes that made my legs buckle.

Those venomous yellow eyes glinted like amber gems. They seemed to burn right through me. Her pupils were catlike slits, and they matched Yacaeli's too perfectly.

The medallion suddenly made a bit more sense.

"I've been waiting all morning for you guys to get up," she continued in that bladed voice of hers. I half expected a forked tongue to come hissing out her mouth. She already had the canines of a cat. "I wanted to see the two romancers over here." She gestured to me and Misty.

I blinked. "You were watching us?" Another question popped up. "How did you get up here so fast?"

"The Sky Cat has chosen me," Yata snapped, as if I should have known this. "I have been selected to do what she wishes, and I will follow without complaint." She smiled in a way that made me shiver. "She wishes me to kill you, with the weapons she has presented me with."

Being attacked by psycho Pokemon was bad, yes, but when a human openly voices that they're going to kill you… well, that's a whole other level of awful. Especially if the person snaps out a deadly black whip with a small chain on the end for their weapon.

"Hang on," Drew said, looking confused. "Why didn't you kill us in our sleep?"

Yata smirked. "That's not very sportsmanlike now, is it?" She cracked the whip, and we jumped back in fright. "Dance, my prey."

The bracelet was very warm. My ankle wasn't completely healed. And my heart was racing. I had to protect the others, no matter what. I would certainly take a crack of that whip for any one of them.

"Yata," began Drew, "do you really want to do this? I mean, we _know_ you. We went to dinner with you. You're… you're our _friend_."

"_I am no one's friend!_" she cried, and she lashed out with the whip. It cracked Drew around the ankles, and he fell. "I am a servant to the great Yacaeli and no one else! Now die!"

Yata flung the whip, and Dawn screamed in pain. Drew scrambled to his feet and ran forward, straight at Yata. Her Glameow leapt at him, allowing Yata to focus on the rest of us. Misty dodged the deadly chain, and I could see her searching around for a weapon.

The bracelet was steadily getting hotter. Yata locked eyes with me and advanced with her whip. I avoided it and prepared myself for another attack, but it didn't come at me. Her eyes slid from me over to my left, to where Max was standing, helplessly rubbing his eyes.

I saw the entire thing in slow motion. The whip curled back, changing direction. I rushed to get in front of Max, to protect him. Yata's eyes registered me, and she smirked. I raised my arm in a weak defense, and squeezed my eyes shut.

There was a loud clanging, and time went back to normal. I opened my eyes and saw the chain wrapped three times around the bracelet, not my unprotected forearm.

Yata's eyes went wide. I looked from the bracelet to her and back again. She appeared to be confused. Seizing the moment, I jerked my arm sharply. The whip was yanked out of her perfectly manicured hand and into the dirt. She gasped.

The bracelet sparked, and I glanced down to see the chain was starting to glow red. "Holy—!" I exclaimed, and tugged at the whip. I was afraid to touch the searing hot chain. Oh Mew, what if the bracelet and the chain melded together and I had to walk around with a whip glued to my wrist and forever be thought of as either one, a cruel and ruthless Trainer, or two, a male prostitute.

I couldn't stand to be labeled as either of those.

"You!" Yata exclaimed, obviously unable to think of anything to say.

At that moment, Misty had found her weapon. A good sized rock went flying through the air and hit Yata in the leg. She stumbled, and just barely regained her balance. "What—?" she began, but Misty chucked another rock, and this one hit her in the stomach, leaving her breathless and unable to speak.

"Take this, you cat woman!" Misty screamed. I turned to see her with a good supply of rocks at her feet and one in her hand. She looked livid, fierce, and positively beautiful.

In my momentary distraction, Yata took her advance. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her reach into her pants (yeah, yeah, laugh, you perverts) and pull out a knife. "For my goddess!" she screeched.

I whirled around, prepared to defend. I didn't realize that my sudden movement was the equivalent of cracking the whip. The whip on the ground came to life, lashing out like a snake. It snapped up, and cracked across Yata's neck.

The handle of the whip was metal; a solid bar of steel coated in thin leather for grip. It was hard, unforgiving, and made the sickest of sounds when it collided with human bone.

The whip ricocheted off her neck. Yata stumbled and her legs tangled up together. Down, down she went, hitting the ground with the softest thud. Her eyes remained open, despite the clouds of dirt billowing around her face.

There was a stunned silence as the whip handle bounced on the ground, causing small puffs of dust to form and dissipate. I stared at Yata in horror. Why wasn't she getting up?

The awful, awful quiet was broken by the Glameow. It gave a yowl so shrill I thought my ear had been ripped open, and raced away from Drew to its fallen Trainer. "Me-OW-OW-OW!" it cried. The Glameow collapsed next to Yata, nuzzling up to her body. I gaped at the tears that began escaping its eyes, falling down rapidly and uncontrollably.

"Oh no," I heard Max murmur.

The cat's cries escalated to wails, sounds so miserable it felt like my heart was ripping apart. It hurt to see the scene before me. I glanced at the bracelet, and then realized I could not look away from it. My eyes followed it down to the black snake, coiled across the ground, all the way up to its lethal metal handle.

_No way_, was all I could think. _There is no way this just happened. _

As I watched, the Glameow placed a delicate paw over its Trainer's eyes, bring the eyelids down to cover Yata's glassy orbs. For me, it was a sense of finality that came crashing down on top of me. Then the Glameow nosed its way under Yata's arm, snuggled up close to her cold body, and closed its eyes.

I never saw it move again.

************************************************************Paragraph Break*************************************************************

I couldn't get the whip off the bracelet. They had been welded together, and since I couldn't get the bracelet off my wrist, I was forever attached to that evil whip. A whip that _I_ had used to kill another human being.

We were silent. Everyone was in too much shock to speak. Inside, I was shaking. I felt sick, my stomach churning like a stormy sea. Everyone avoided me, afraid. And yet, we had to keep moving. If we didn't, Yacaeli would have that much more of a shot at killing _us_.

_So, the hero is corrupted. Will the greatness last?_

I jumped. "Dad," I whispered, and I almost lost my control. The angry, terrified tears I had managed to keep at bay were suddenly leaking from my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

_You'd better not speak to me out loud. Your friends will think you've lost it._

I glanced around and, sure enough, a few of my fellow companions were eyeing me nervously. I faced the path in front of me, blinking away tears and fright. _Okay, now what are you talking about?_ I repeated angrily.

_It's nothing important,_ Cináed said nonchalantly. _Like how the mist always rolls out when the morning ends, your hunt will be hard until the fog clears. In a meadow, by the way. With warriors._

_WHAT?_ I cried inwardly. I swung my arms in rage, and the whip snapped across the ground. The sound of it made me want to throw up. _How is that supposed to make ANY sense?_

Cináed whistled. _Whoa, son, chill. I'm just trying to help._

_Great,_ I muttered. _Any other help you want to give while I'm still listening?_

_Yeah,_ Dad continued, his tone saying he did not approve of my sarcasm. _The leaves are certainly not growing back, the spear has gone blunt, and courage is about to jump ship._

"Huh?" I said aloud.

_Good luck, Ash. I'm counting on you._

_*******************************************************_*****Paragraph Break*************************************************************_  
_

Paul made one final, lazy move, and Red was cornered. "Mate," Paul said.

Red was gaping at the makeshift chessboard, unable to believe what had happened. "That was… ingenious," he breathed. "You sacrificed your queen, and then checkmated me with your _pawn_. I didn't even see it coming!"

The quiet Trainer shrugged. "It wasn't that impressive," he mumbled, trying not to sound proud. In truth, Paul loved chess. It was the only thing he could beat Reggie at, or any of his siblings, for that matter.

May was grinning like an idiot. "Yes! And the mighty Red goes _down_!" she exclaimed.

Blue was lying in the flowers, not caring a bit. He held one of the delicate daisies in his hand, quietly picking the petals off. He then plucked one of the leaves and pressed it to his lips, eyes closed. It was the closest he could get to her in this Arceus forsaken place.

A loud whooshing made him open his eyes. "Oh?" Blue said, still lazy and half asleep. "We have company," he told the others.

May looked up expectantly. Paul saw her face pale, and she screamed. Both he and Red jumped, knocking the chessboard and the pieces into the grass. "Those _birds!_" she shrieked.

Paul looked up, and found himself wanting to cover his head and hide as well. Up above, three giant birds were circling. They swooped lower and lower, until one of them screeched. They then broke formation and landed expertly across from May.

The creatures did not look friendly in the least. Two of them had feathers of the deepest black, accompanied by vicious red eyes. A different crown of feathers rested on each of their heads; the one on the right had feathers that stuck up like a Mohawk, while the one on the left had feathers that fell down over one of its eyes. It looked even more lethal than its companion with only one eye showing.

However, the one in the middle appeared to be the most dangerous.

It was stark white, with a sharp, craggily beak. Its steely gray eyes glinted with a maliciousness the others lacked. The great creature seemed to be the leader of the three.

Paul cocked his head to the side, curious. The three birds were wearing… robes, he supposed. Very strange robes. They were as white as the leader's feathers, and trimmed with deep red. Along the hems, there were water washed designs that curled up in intricate formations. And all three were looking straight at him.

Red looked at the three birds with boredom. "Hello," he greeted, and he began searching for his chess pieces.

The leader bird glanced down at Red, then turned its gaze back to Paul. Paul stared right back at it, scowling. It matched his gaze evenly, evidently disapproved of him, and looked back to Red. "An interesting couple you have found yourselves," it said in a rather eerie voice. It pointed towards May with a birdlike hand. Paul was reminded of a bird he'd read about in some book about whangdoodles. It yelled "Mayday!" all the time, and that was all he remembered of it. "Why does that one have her head in the ground like a Doduo?"

Paul stared at Red. Red had just salvaged his queen (a nickel) from the grass and was inspecting it for dirt. "I guess she doesn't like birds," he remarked.

The bird glared at May again. "Odd girl," it said. Then it turned to Paul. "My name is Polevous. I am the leader of the Sky Warriors." It gestured to its companions. "This is Bellemistis, and this is Avious."

The Mohawk one and emo one nodded accordingly. Paul stared at the birds. "I'm Paul," he said. "That's May."

"Is she scared of us?" asked the Mohawk one, Bellemistis. Its voice was higher and sounded more feminine than Polevous', so Paul assumed that Polevous was male and Bellemistis was female.

"It seems that way," Avious remarked. Male, Paul decided.

Polevous cocked his head to the side, glaring eyes watching May curiously. She kept her head under her arms and quivered with fear. Polevous waved his birdlike arm, and a gnarled wooden staff appeared in his hand. It was carved with the same markings on the robes of the Sky Warriors. "May," he said in his deep voice, "do we frighten you?"

May sniffled, and Paul was astounded to realize she was crying. "Just go away, you mean birds," she sobbed. "Go and take your evil sticks with you."

"Evil… sticks?" Avious repeated questioningly. "Only one of us has a stick."

"Hey guys," Blue called, waving the flower in greeting. "What's up, Poly?"

"I do not like it when he calls you that," Bellemistis hissed. Her Mohawk of feathers seemed to quiver with rage.

"Oh, hush, Belle," Polevous laughed. "I rather like Blue."

Bellemistis bristled at the pet name, but she did not reply.

"Go away," May groaned.

Avious looked livid with his emo feathers, but he approached May boldly and knelt down by her cowering form. "Have we insulted you in any way, _kalo aphi_?"

May looked up hesitantly. "What?" she asked.

"Beautiful one," Avious clarified gently.

Paul blinked as May's cheeks went pink. "Oh," was all she said.

"Was that a yes?" pressed Avious.

"N-no, it's just…" May began, trembling. "I had a… hallucination, I guess, where you three came and killed my brother and… friends."

Avious looked suddenly furious. He stood up abruptly, causing May to cower again. "Polevous," he said with awful, calm anger. "That accursed Sky Cat has meddled with our image again."

The white Sky Warrior looked hurt. "I am aware of this, Avious, but what can we do? She has taken our souls and locked us in this wretched place, while our bodies have long since rotted and decayed. There is nothing we can do."

Paul blinked. "We can fight," he said, as if it were obvious. Why hadn't they seen this before?

Bellemistis hissed. "And how do you propose we do that, human?"

"We're not really dead," said Paul. Had they really never thought of this? "We can get out of here, right?"

Blue snorted with laughter, Red along with him. "How? We've tried every way we could possibly think of to get out of here, and we can't. End of story. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find myself some more leaves." With that, he stood up and started walking, only to lie down in a flurry of flowers not far along.

"The human is right," Bellemistis growled. "We are imprisoned here, and we have no way of escaping."

"Not if Ash is still alive," May told them. She began to smile. "_Especially_ if he's mad."

***AN: I'm a bit angry. I recently obtained Platinum from my brother, beat the game, and found that the time for obtaining Mystery Gifts has long since gone. I will never get Arceus, Shaymin, go inside Harbor Inn and get Darkrai, or make my Rotom look different. My heart kinda broke when I realized that. I never did any of these things in Diamond, either, except the Shaymin one. And I used cheats to get Arceus. Which I'm not very proud of. **

**Well, my bestie has deserted me for five weeks. Nothing to do but read fanfic and volunteer at the library. By the way, the names of the Sky Warriors are derived from different words meaning "warrior" or "sky". You make recognize the "ous" from Oupavos. Anywho, till next time. Which probably won't be long since I'm so bored.**

**I would like to thank EVERYONE who reviewed the last chapter, especially ohlookrandom. I think I just about cried reading your review. It made me feel so amazing. So thank you. And sorry for the long AN.**

**Last thing. Then I'm done. My buddy The Color is Blinding is an AMAZING writer. She doesn't get nearly as many readers as she deserves. Granted, she doesn't write for Pokemon, but it would mean a lot if you guys would check her out. You don't have to, of course, but we'd both appreciate it if you did. K, I'm done. Bye.*  
**


	30. Here in Suspense

_"Reluctantly crouched at the starting line, engines pumping and thumping in time, the green light flashes, the flag goes up, churning and burning, they yearn for the cup" - Cake "The Distance"_

30 Here in Suspense

Yacaeli was, once again, outraged. She paced around her cave, twitching occasionally. _How?_ _How_ had Yata failed so miserably? She should have known better than to lay trust in a human. Something created by the hands of Arceus could never be truly trusted.

She quickly dismissed the reminder that she was also created by Arceus.

Suicune thrashed in his sleep, moaning softly. Yacaeli felt his nightmares, and grinned evilly at how terrible they were. Traitor. He deserved every ounce of pain Yacaeli's mind could give him.

"He doesn't look like he's sleeping very well."

Yacaeli growled and spun around. There was that human she had taken from the others, the one that never opened his eyes. Brock, she was sure his name was. He was bleeding from various scratches she had given him, and sat limply against the wall of the cave, but he still found the urge to speak and smile like an idiot. "Have you not learned yet, human? I can kill you with one swipe of my paw. I suggest you watch yourself."

Brock the human laughed. "If you wanted to do that, I would have stopped talking a long time ago," he chortled.

"I'm only keeping you alive until your friends arrive," she snarled, glaring. "After that, you'll be the entertainment."

He smiled at her. "Then I'm going to use my tongue as much as I can while I still have it."

Yacaeli could only growl in frustration. Her claws slid out and dug themselves into the floor of the cave. Perhaps it was time she killed something, if only to ease her growing fury.

Where was that damned Pikachu? It needed to die anyways. Killing it would certainly bring her some relief.

Another sneer of anger escaped her. She hated Arceus. She hated the fact that she could only kill with her jaws and claws. Her abilities were useless if she wanted to end something's life. Currently, the only things she could kill were Suicune and the overly happy human.

What a difficult choice. Suicune, the traitor, or Brock, the worthless human? No doubt killing Suicune would be more satisfying, and almost certainly shut up the human. Yes… Suicune would die.

As the Pokemon writhed in his sleep once more, Yacaeli unhooked her claws from the dirt and attacked.

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Absol and Tenebri drank deeply from the waterfall's pool. They had been going hungry since all the wild Pokemon had vanished from the mountain, and it was disheartening to see the pool so void of fish. However, they were undeterred in their quest. Yacaeli was going to fall, and afterwards, they could eat.

"How does Yacaeli survive if all the other Pokemon are gone?" Tenebri wondered, trying to conceal her curiosity.

Absol looked towards the sky. "When the moon is in the sky, she feeds off its energy. Or off the energy of others around her. Like a parasite." He spit the last word with such venom that Tenebri actually flinched back. A second later, her face split into a grin.

This was exactly what she wanted. If Absol took care of the Sky Cat for her, all Tenebri had to do afterwards was take the Genesis Stone. She was not bound to the mountain, or by any restrictions as to how she could kill. She had recognized these as Yacaeli's weaknesses, and knew she would be without them.

They kept trotting up the mountain, passing a dead human and a Glameow. Tenebri didn't give them a second glance.

Not much longer now. Tonight, at the very most.

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I was sick of it. Sick of riddles, sick of death, sick of the mountain, _sick of it_. We had lost three humans, a few Pokemon, and every bit of sanity we'd arrived here with. I had a murder weapon welded to my wrist, which I now had to coil it up and carry it because it kept getting caught on things. I was careful to avoid touching the handle.

Murderer. That's what I had become. A _murderer_. Never, for as long as I lived, would I ever be rid of that. I will always have killed a person, no matter how unintentional or defensive it had been. People would murmur that about me when I walked by.

"_Did you hear? That's Ash Ketchum. He killed some poor girl on a mountain with a whip handle."_

"_Oh yeah. I stay away from him as much as I can. Never know when he could lash out again."_

_Any particular reason you're torturing yourself?_

I jumped again. Now Adara, my grandmother, was talking to me. I thought it'd be odd if I called her "Grandma" right off the bat, so I stuck with Adara. _Yes, Adara. I like to wallow in pain and misery. Now go away. _

_Did you understand what Cináed told you?_

_No_, I huffed angrily. _Did _anyone_?_

_Oh,_ Adara said with surprise. _Then there's not much I can do._

I rolled my eyes and snapped back with a sarcastic comment. _Jeez, I just _love_ you guys, you know that?_

_Do you want to hear what I_ can_ do?_ Adara said snidely.

I almost laughed. _Go ahead._

_You're going to get wet._

For some reason, the vagueness of her help didn't surprise me. I didn't bother trying to figure out if it was figurative or literal. If I was going to get wet, then fine by me.

"Hey."

I turned my head. Drew was walking beside me, tenderly examining the bandaging job Dawn had done of his face. He winced every time he touched his cheeks. "Hey," I replied.

He took a shuddering breath. "Um… I need to talk to you about… this." He gestured to the world around us.

I arched an eyebrow. "What about—" I mimicked his gesture, "this?"

Drew cast me a nervous glance. I decided that whatever this was, it couldn't be good. "I… I can't take this anymore," he murmured. "I've lost so much. I'm _scared_, Ash. Yacaeli is too much for me. I'm… ah, how can I put it delicately? Jumping ship, I guess."

His words sent me into a spiral. Didn't Cináed say something similar? About… courage?

My brain decided that then was a good time to remember what Drew had said his name meant. Courageous and manly. And courage was about to "jump ship."

Sometimes, life was too literal.

I blinked. "Drew, what are you talking about?" I exclaimed. The others were engrossed in Max, who was desperately trying to hide the fact that he was crying. I figured they could handle him while I took care of Drew. "You can't let us down like that. May would never forgive you for deserting your team. And that's what we are: a _team_."

Drew just shook his head. "May is dead. I don't have to worry about pleasing her anymore. I'm taking Max and I'm getting off this mountain. That's the least I can do for her."

"Don't go," I whispered. I was pleading now, desperate to prove my father's words wrong. "I need you here with me, Drew."

He glared at me. "You have Misty. I don't have anyone."

"I know, but…" I was shaking, and I felt as if saying it aloud was only going to make it come true. "But I feel as if I won't much longer."

This shocked him. I looked away, aware that my worst fear was almost definitely going to come true. I was insanely scared, and now that I was letting Drew in on this fear, I couldn't be the great hero/leader anymore. Not when _I_ didn't even believe in me.

Pikachu jumped on my shoulder with a soft grunt. "Pika!" he greeted cheerily.

I glanced at him, unable to stand seeing his happy smile, and looked away. Unfortunately, this meant I looked at Misty instead, which was just as bad, so I focused on straight ahead. I could honestly feel us getting closer to Yacaeli.

_Well, you did it. I didn't think you'd prove me wrong, but you did._

I didn't even bother replying.

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Time seemed to pass differently in the meadow than it did in the real world. Paul had fallen asleep a while ago, and his dreams contained awful nightmares of things he didn't want to see.

He saw Dawn, mostly, in fatal situations while he could do nothing to help her. He saw himself a few times, broken and bloodied, but that didn't bother him as much. He also saw his Pokemon and friends hurt or dying, which also shook him, but Dawn was the worst. Which was probably why she kept popping up.

Paul hated these dreams. Why couldn't he dream about happy things, like kissing Dawn or being with his father again or listening to Reggie ramble about Arceus knows what? Those were what his normal dreams consisted of. He missed his normal dreams.

How about a dream that didn't have any dying? That would have been nice. In fact, that would have been spectacular. But the nightmares were relentless.

He woke a while later, though he felt as if he'd gotten no sleep. The Sky Warriors were already awake, and had set out a breakfast of berries and crackers. Where they had gotten them mystified Paul, but he wasn't about to complain. Food was food, after all.

Shakily, Paul made his way over to the birds and sat down. He grabbed a handful of berries and a few crackers and quietly nibbled on them. He didn't feel hungry; not after dreams like last night's.

"Nightmares?" guessed Polevous.

Paul said nothing in reply, merely nibbled on his cracker.

The fact that May had had nightmares was painfully obvious when she took one look at the Sky Warriors and screamed. Bellemistis did not approve of this and looked rather miffed, but Avious chuckled. "What was it this time?" he asked, laughing.

May forced herself to calm down. "Um," she began, "you guys ate us in our sleep."

Red woke up with the imprint of flower stems on his face. He rubbed his eyes, grumbled something about bad dreams "again," and was silent.

Polevous smiled sadly. "Yacaeli has a specialty for nightmares," he said gravely. "She was made from dreams, and has even more control over them than the regular ghost. She is… an interesting combination of Types."

"Where do you guys come in?" May asked curiously. She was still wary of the birds, and made a point to sit on Paul's other side, farthest away from the Sky Warriors.

Bellemistis snorted at this movement and looked pointedly away. She folded her birdlike arms indignantly, making no effort to hide how much she disliked the humans.

Avious was much more open. "She created us," he said conversationally. "Turned us into an army to defend her against Arceus and his army of everything else. There used to be hundreds of us." He gestured to the white bird. "Polevous was the commander. Bellemistis and I were the top warriors, thanks to our special abilities. She made us so that we could always sense when there was danger to Yacaeli. We did something wrong, I suppose, and Yacaeli killed all the others in front of us. Then she took our souls and put us here, so that we would suffer for eternity."

May blinked in shock. "What did you guys _do_?" she asked.

Polevous waved away her question. "It's not important. What _is_ important is the fact that your friend here thinks we can get out of here alive." He fixed Paul with a testing glare.

Paul continued to nibble on his cracker, ignoring the sudden attention. He was never the one to come up with the plans, just to make the ideas. Usually Ash or Reggie did the rest.

"Well?" Bellemistis snapped. "Any comment?"

He shrugged and began to decide what berry to eat first.

"Well, we can't do anything from the inside," May said with a smirk, "but we still have people on the _outside._"

Polevous suddenly looked panicked. "This person on the outside," he said carefully. "Does he have black hair and carry a yellow mouse on his shoulder?"

"That he does," Paul replied.

The great white bird's face broke into a rather beaky smile. "Then Yacaeli is in _grave_ danger."

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Brock was already on his feet and rushing towards Yacaeli, determined to protect the defenseless Suicune. But he was forced to leap out of the way of the great cat flailing as she fell backwards. "What?" she growled, rolling so she was back on her feet.

Brock was wondering the same thing. However, the pink creature disappeared so fast that he didn't have time to register what it was.

Or, moreover, he didn't have time to believe his eyes.

"Get away from him!" he heard a feminine voice shriek. He saw the blur of pink came flying at Yacaeli.

"That's right, _Mom_, leave him alone!" cried another. This time, a streak of green and white went rocketing at the Sky Cat.

Brock hit the deck as the blur of green came back for round two. He looked up cautiously, trying to see _what_ was attacking Yacaeli. It wasn't until the blurs paused to try and wake Suicune that he was able to truly confirm his suspicions.

Softly pink and floating, Mew nudged the Suicune. The Suicune didn't move. Shaymin even bit its ear, but to no avail.

These maneuvers allowed Yacaeli to recoup, and, as they were distracted by the Suicune, they didn't see her oncoming attack.

Brock did.

He ran at the Sky Cat, leaping on her back and locking his arms around her neck. She roared in fury, flapping her wings and shaking her great head in an attempt to throw him off. But Brock held steady, and it wasn't until she rammed into the cave wall that he finally relinquished his hold.

With a gasp, Brock tumbled off her back. He remained on the floor of the cave, panting for air. In a heartbeat she was standing over him, teeth bared in a vicious growl. "Human," she snarled. "Do not meddle in a fight amongst family members."

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I had no idea where the day had gone. Granted, we had slept far too long in the first place, but… shouldn't it have stayed light longer? The sky was darkening around us far too quickly, and it only added to my anxiety as we approached the summit. The air got colder and colder the higher we climbed.

Strangely, the light of the unseen moon was brighter here. It seemed ironic. We were to freeze, but the moon would still shine down on us.

I could hear Max sniffling somewhere behind me, but I didn't want to look. Pikachu was riding on my shoulder, and he seemed far too calm. I didn't like it at all. Was he already under Yacaeli's control?

Suddenly, Brock's voice floated down to us. "He doesn't look like he's sleeping very well."

I felt some weight lift off my chest. Brock was still alive. Thank Mew.

Yacaeli growled something in response, and Brock laughed at her.

Abruptly, Pikachu stiffened on my shoulder. I glanced at him and saw that his eyes were locked on the heavens. I followed his gaze, and for the briefest of instants, I saw two figures floating in the air, silhouetted in the moonlight. One looked strangely like a person. Just as I was trying to focus my eyes for a better look, they vanished.

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Max wiped his teary eyes, which only made them itch more. Everything was going wrong. May was dead. Ash had just killed Yata. _Killed_ her. The thought made him feel queasy.

And his eyes _would not stop itching_. Tears kept swimming in his vision, trying to ease the annoyance, but the itching continued. He pulled off his glasses, making the streaks of light vanish, but also blurring his vision. As if it wasn't bad enough with the tears and itching. He hated not being able to see.

Drew had been thinking about taking him and leaving the mountain. Max had overheard him with Ash. Max didn't like this idea. To think that Drew would abandon the others in this hour of dire need was appalling. Had Drew come to take him, Max would have thrown the biggest fit of his life to stay.

After rubbing his eyes some more, to no avail, Max put the glasses back on his face. There were the blurs of light, paths he was meant to follow up the mountain, but he remained in the group. Dawn and Misty were on either side of him, a source of comfort. He plunged his hand into his pocket, searching for the round, smooth ball that held his prize Kirlia. It had pained him so greatly to hurt it yesterday. He would make sure he wouldn't ever have to do that again.

_Psst!_

Max jumped, much to Misty and Dawn's surprise. For a moment, he thought Leaf was talking to him. Until the voice spoke again, inside his head.

_Max_, they whispered.

Max took a shuddering breath, trying to remain calm. Hearing voices did _not_ ensue for this kind of mindset, though.

_Your sister has a message for you._

_**************************************************************_Paragraph Break***********************************************************_  
_

May smiled at Avious. The bird gave a rather unnerving smile in return. Then he closed his eyes again and continued his telepathic message to the outside world. This was his "special ability."

"Tell him to make Ash angry," she whispered to Avious. They didn't want Bellemistis to find them and start screaming at them. "As angry as he can."

Avious nodded. "A fire fueled by rage," he said knowingly, "always does the most damage."

***AN: I'm sorry this took so long. Cory Doctorow's new book came out and commanded my attention completely. And internet was down.  
**

**I recently realized that Ash is named for two cities in Idaho: Ashton and Ketchum. Isn't that funny? That might not be what the translators were intending, but that's what happened. Anyways, I'll see you next time I update. Hopefully. We are VERY close to the end, and to 200 reviews, so let's achieve these goals together! Thank you for reading and reviewing and I love you all. Ciao.*  
**


	31. Wrath

_"I'm gonna fight 'em off; a seven nation army couldn't hold me back. They're gonna rip it off, taking their time right behind my back. And I'm talking to myself at night, because I can't forget, back and forth through my mind behind a cigarette" - The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"_

31 Wrath

We were right outside the cave entrance, trembling with fear, when Max pushed me.

I stared down at him in shock. He had run at me, full sprint, and given me the best shove he had. And it'd _hurt._ "What?" I said.

Max glared up at me, furious tears in his eyes and on his cheeks. Without a word, he rammed me again.

Everyone was watching us curiously, unnerved by the fighting but certainly open to the alternative of entering Yacaeli's lair. I looked at Drew accusingly, but he looked as clueless as I felt.

"What's the matter?" I cried, confused.

"You," spat the boy.

I blinked. "Me?"

Max raised his hands and gave me a rough push. "_Yes_, you! Have you noticed that _everything bad _happens to us because of _you?_ When we were in Johto, we were perfectly safe! And now… now May's dead and you're just leading the rest of us into the slaughterhouse!"

My jaw dropped. "I never said you had to come," I snapped.

"But I did," Max replied shortly. "We ALL did. Do you have _any _concerns for our safety at all? You expect to follow you into that cave like a bunch of puppies and then sacrifice ourselves to keep you safe?" He stamped his foot. "Not anymore, Ash."

"I don't expect anything like that!" I exclaimed. "Where are you getting these ideas? I would never intentionally put you guys in danger!"

Max narrowed his eyes. "Really, Ash? Are you sure you're above that? You just _killed_ another human being."

"That was an accident!" My heart was pounding. Was Yacaeli controlling him? Oh, I was going to _kill_ that cat. My eyes traveled down to the incriminating whip still glued to my wrist. The bile rose in my throat just looking at it. I swallowed it down and met Max's stare challengingly. "An accident," I said firmly.

Max snorted. "Yes, okay, so that's… three 'accidents' so far? Or do we preemptively count Brock?"

"Brock will not die," I hissed. I was shaking with fury. Why? Why had he suddenly turned on me?

He laughed hollowly, peering around me into the cave. "I give him a minute," he stated.

I whipped around, panic once again in my chest. I saw Brock on Yacaeli's back, looking infinitely dwarfed next to the Sky Cat. He had latched his fingers into her feathers and fur, causing her to howl and roar in fury and pain. He then snaked his arms around her neck and locked them, determined to hold on to the flailing cat.

My stomach dropped when she crashed into the wall. Brock seemed to slide off her, and landed helplessly on the ground. Suddenly she was standing over him like a lion over its prey. "Human," she snarled. "Do not meddle in a fight amongst family members."

"Number four," Max said dangerously.

_No,_ I thought, clenching my hands into fists. _Not him too._ Instinctively I unwound the whip from around my wrist. It had killed one cat, and it was going to at least do damage to another.

With a yell of fury that took even me by surprise, I ran into the cave. Yacaeli twisted her head around to see me, a quizzical look on her face. When I thought I was close enough, I hurled the whip handle as hard as I could.

Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance. The handle fell to the ground with an anticlimactic _thunk._ I exchanged a glance with Yacaeli before she lunged.

Pikachu showed me true loyalty then. He was so fast I didn't even see him slide in front of me. I did, however, see the blinding flash of lightning as he electrocuted Yacaeli. "Pika!" he cried. The great cat trembled with the force of electricity now pulsing through her. I felt myself tearing up at Pikachu's faithfulness.

"And counting," Max said from behind.

My tears dried instantly. That stupid little kid; why was he pushing me? I was just getting angrier and angrier. Yacaeli _had_ to be controlling him. If I hurt her enough, he would stop. I guessed.

A vicious growl cut through my thoughts. I blinked and saw Yacaeli sparking with the remnants of electricity, her fur crackling and alive. "Foolish rat," she hissed at Pikachu. "You will regret this."

With a scowl, I stepped forward and cracked the whip. Yacaeli jumped as it grazed her shoulder. Suddenly her attention was on me. Instead of feeling panicked and scared, I only bared my teeth in rage.

She seemed to grin. Then she looked at Pikachu. "Pikachu," she said seductively, "thy master wishes you harm."

I was staring at the cat with a most quizzical look on my face, because did she really just say _thy_? But I was shocked when Pikachu took a defensive pose and spat back her persuasion with a vicious "Pika!"

Yacaeli looked furious. "What?" she snarled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two figures from earlier. They came flying towards me, and instinctively I cracked the whip. The two dodged with a hiss.

"What the Hall, I'm trying to _help_!"

I blinked, confused. Yacaeli saw this and, forgetting all about Pikachu, jumped at me.

Leaf was the one who came to save me. She had been slinking around us while we argued, getting to where she was behind Yacaeli. The instant the cat lunged, she latched onto her tail.

Yacaeli roared and whipped around, Leaf still attached to her rear. The girl was waved through the air with a startled yelp, until her hands slipped. She fell to the ground and rolled, managing to stay safe.

A pink floating person appeared in front of me. They enveloped themselves in a bubble. Hurriedly, I tried to bring the whip back to me, but it wouldn't move. I looked over and saw, much to my surprise, Shaymin dragging an unconscious Suicune across the whip. It was then I realized my protector was Mew.

The bracelet was getting warm, though, and I was distracted.

Misty was yelling something about Drew, and next thing I knew, someone had grabbed me and forced me to roll in the dirt. I was going to bite his head off until I saw the scorched piece of ground I had been standing on; one of Pikachu's attacks gone awry.

Drew sneezed from the dirt in his nose and helped me to my feet. I saw Dawn and Misty working hurriedly at the cave entrance, fashioning some sort of slingshot from Dawn's extra bandages.

Suicune had been successfully dragged off of the whip, allowing me to regain use of my arm. I launched myself into the battle that was going on between Mew, Yacaeli, and Pikachu, whip first.

The whip handle, by some divine interference, crashed into Yacaeli's skull. She howled in pain, but unfortunately, the whip handle had hit her hard enough to break away from the leather rope. It bounced away and rolled out the second entrance.

"Yah!" was the battle cry, and a stone landed hard right in front of Yacaeli. Misty and Dawn had succeeded in making their slingshot. They high-fived their achievement and readied the weapon with another rock.

Yacaeli hissed in annoyance and waved her tail. Before my very eyes, she drew water out of the air. The stream followed her tasseled tail, growing as it did. While she did this, Yacaeli drew her claws across the dirt, leaving long, threatening markings in the floor of her cave.

The bracelet continued to heat up, so much so that I found myself jumping at its intensity. In fact, the whole whip was starting to heat up, and I smelled smoke.

The whip was going to catch on fire.

"Ash!" Dawn cried. I spun around just in time to avoid the knife flying at my face. "Cut it!"

I looked around to see where the dagger had landed, and found it glinting in the dirt. Without another thought, I threw myself at it.

I never hit the ground. Something had come rocketing into the cave and run right underneath me. The timing had been too perfect; whatever it was, I was now going for a joyride on its back.

Whatever I was riding on was running pell-mell towards Yacaeli, head down like a Taurus. I was bouncing up and down, dragging what was left of the whip behind us.

"Ab_sol_!" my ride cried, and it rammed right into the Sky Cat. She gave a furious screech, and the water from her tail dissolved.

The force of the hit caused me to bounce off the creature and slam into the ground. The wind went out of my lungs in an _oof!_ and I found myself gasping like a fish.

The Absol jumped back, growling, and the horn on its head began to glow. "Psycho Cut!" I screamed in warning, and ducked. However, I wasn't the monster's target.

The attack hit Yacaeli, cutting deeply into her fur and skin. She gave an angry roar and lunged at the Absol. With it in her mouth, she tossed it to the side and jumped at me.

I held up the bracelet defensively. The whip had all but incinerated, and the cat had to roll to avoid the jet of flames that the bracelet spat out. I remained on the ground, spewing fire, as I tried to plan my next move. It was ridiculously hard to think with a lion attacking me and fire flying out of my wrist.

The fire wasn't something I could control, and now that the whip had burned away, I didn't have any sort of weapon that I could direct. Except for—

I kicked my legs over my head and spun around, winding up on my knees. There! Dawn's knife glinted in the light created by my flames. The fire seemed to die away as I dashed towards the dagger. And then it was in my hands, the gorgeous hilt gleaming and warm, and the cave was rapidly getting colder and the darkness was settling in, without the flames to light the cave, and then…

With a victorious yelp, I turned to where I was certain Yacaeli was, my eyes still adjusting to the gloom. The knife was cooling fast in my hand, and wasn't feeling as miraculous as it had just moments ago.

In an instant, I was able to see clearly, and in that same instant I found myself wishing I couldn't.

Yacaeli had tossed Dawn across the cave, where she lay clutching her bad arm. Brock was attempting to crawl over to her, but the fallen Absol was in his way. Mew and Shaymin were still standing protectively around Suicune. Drew and Leaf were on the other side of the cave, on their feet and ready to fight with the weapons of a metal water bottle and a pocket knife, yet not moving. Their eyes were wide with terror and transfixed on the Sky Cat. Yacaeli herself had a glint in her moonlike eyes that told me she had won, and under her massive claws she held Misty, too scared to squirm or fight.

"Now," she hissed, tensing her claws, "you will see."

My heart pounded in my throat as I watched Yacaeli glare down at my beloved, baring her teeth in a Cheshire smile. Misty glared right back, though her shaking betrayed her fear. In a desperate attempt at defiance, Misty gave a violent kick to the Sky Cat's underside. Yacaeli's smirk went to a grimace as Misty's leg made contact, and she pinned her down harder.

"You are fierce," hissed the cat, "and yet, you can be calm. Like the water." Yacaeli's eyes lit up. "Yes," she purred. "Like the water."

Misty bared her teeth as Yacaeli leaned down and breathed on her face. She shivered as if her breath were freezing.

Then the strangest, most awful thing happened.

It looked, at first, as if Misty were sweating. Perspiration formed on every bit of skin I could see, and those that I couldn't I saw the water soaking through her clothes. She tried to speak, but it came out as a gurgle. I stared in confusion as Misty became transparent, dripping water as if she were being turned into the stuff.

I didn't realize until it was too late that that was exactly what was happening.

Misty was gasping for air, but her breaths sounded wet and strange. And then, in one swooping moment, she was no longer there. Water whooshed and spread out as water does, allowing the ground to soak it up.

Yacaeli paws were wet, but she didn't seem to care. "And now you are," she said to the soaking patch of ground before her.

My eyes would not blink. I held the dagger before me, unconsciously shaking. It wasn't until someone made a strangled sound of fear that I was brought back to earth with a jolt. Misty was dead. I had just seen Misty be changed into water. Which meant she was _dead._ D-E-A-D. Gone. Forever.

I would never.

Ever.

See her.

Again.

"No," I whispered, and that word held more pain than I had or would ever, ever feel. "_No!_"

The bracelet seemed to explode into flames, but I hardly noticed. Hot, angry tears rolled down my cheeks as I panted with rage. Yacaeli would die the most horrible death I was capable of.

Distantly, I heard my friends screaming, felt Pikachu cling to my shoulder, but none of it registered. I had eyes and ears only for the monster that was the Sky Cat.

Frightened by the flames, Yacaeli bolted. I chased her blindly, rushing after her through the second entrance of the cave. She dove into a pool of water, and I followed. The fire was not extinguished, nor was my rage.

Down, down, I dove, into the depths of the strange pool. The fire still roared by my hand, but it didn't matter. It was entirely in my control. I don't know how I knew that, but I did. Dawn's knife was still clutched in my fingers, tighter than I was aware of, but it didn't matter and I didn't notice anyways. Pikachu's claws dug into my shoulder, begging for air, but I ignored him. I couldn't lose the retreating tail of Yacaeli.

There was light at the bottom of the pool, and as I made my way towards it, I started to feel wet, like I was no longer _in_ water. I realized that I _was_ sopping wet, and that I was swimming in… air, it seemed.

In the next moment, I stopped swimming altogether and started falling. Falling, falling, falling, down to the ground that was so far away I couldn't see it, with Pikachu screaming in my ear. I hardly cared that I was falling. At the end, I would be dead, and with Misty gone and the idea that Yacaeli would probably fall too, that would be perfectly fine.

*************************************************************Swim meet tomorrow!********************************************************

Tenebri grabbed Absol by his scruff, determined to wake him. The humans were panicking, and the noise irritated her delicate ears. "Wake up!" she hissed at him. "Your enemy is escaping while you lie here like a Snorlax. What would Father Arceus say if he saw this? _Do you want to disappoint him?_

That did it. Absol groaned and rose unsteadily to his feet. "Where did she go?" he growled.

"Into the water," Tenebri told him. "Go! After her!"

Absol snarled with fury and ran off, growling curses to the Sky Cat with the Genesis Stone glinting around his neck.

Never was there such a smug Umbreon.

*********************************************************Gonna do really well, I hope*******************************************************

Max stumbled from around into the cave, unable to believe what his eyes had seen. Misty was dead. Ash was _mad_. May's plan had been accomplished, though not in the way Max had anticipated. He had never meant for one of their number to fall again.

Was this his fault? No, it couldn't be! He hadn't done anything, except for fail to make Ash angry…

The guilt set in like the night, heavy and blinding. If he had only gotten Ash furious sooner, perhaps Ash would have been able to prevent Misty's death from occurring.

Perhaps.

Max sank to the ground, his guilt overwhelming him. The tears were coming. Humiliating, incriminating tears, fleeing his eyes and running down his cheeks.

Through his blurred vision, Max saw the lights. _Well_, he thought, _no one will want me here anyways when they find out it was my fault. _He shuddered as he remembered how he and Drew had treated Paul. _Might as well follow it._

So Max got to his shaky, trembling feet and following the light through the cave, until he came upon a pond. The light dove right into the water, and without thinking of the consequences, Max dove straight into the pool.

***AN: Well, wasn't that exciting? I'm going to be at a swim meet the next three days, whoop dee do. Sorry this update took a while. I hit a bit of a roadblock while writing it. Hopefully things will go better next chapter. Mmkay, folks, be sure to review. Gonna go... bake cookies! Bye!***


	32. A Change of Hands

_"If heaven and hell decide, that they both are satisfied, illuminate the no's, on their vacancy sign. If there's no one beside you, when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark" - Death Cab for Cutie "I Will Follow You into the Dark"_

32 A Change of Hands

Gary stayed late that night.

Professor Rowan had already left, giving him advice to not overwork himself, but Gary had ignored the old man. He was on to something. Multiple somethings, actually.

The first, and probably more important thing he had discovered, was that there was a certain woman who lived in Oupavos by the name of Nerina Malone, who went by the pseudonym Madame Eulixia in order to conceal her identity.

Nerina was an Italian name, meaning water. He had discovered the woman by interrogating Delia Ketchum and finding out who had fathered Ash. Afterwards, he had traced Champion Cináed's heritage back and found out his mother, Adara, had died shortly after he was born. He had been raised by his aunt, Nerina, on the eastern side of Kanto. After Cináed had died as well, Nerina had moved to the place of his death, determined to find out more.

Of course, the old woman had gone slightly mad, unable to travel up the mountain where her nephew's body lay. Gary felt genuinely sorry for the poor woman, especially after the stampede had run through the town. She was now buried under her own house, and counted amongst the deaths in the town.

Nerina had kept all of Cináed's possessions, including a bracelet she'd found near the base of the mountain and claimed was his. By reviewing the old battle tapes, Gary had seen Cináed wearing a bracelet similar to the one his aunt described (believe it or not, the woman kept a log of everything she did after Cináed's death and published it online). He only wore it when he used his fire Pokemon, and they were always ridiculously powerful. Gary had watched weak fire Types trump water Types as if they were grass.

The second and more personally important thing Gary had found was a strangely new-looking photograph under his bed. It showed himself, Ash, and the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, all laughing about some inside joke. Seeing the picture had triggered some memory, but it was like trying to remember a dream. The more he thought about her, the harder it was to remember her. So he kept the picture taped to his monitor, glancing at it occasionally. She really was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

He decided that, when Ash came back, he would ask him who she was.

*****************************************************************Paragraph Break********************************************************

Paul raced through the meadow with the Sky Warriors soaring above him. Red and Blue sprinted on either side of him, steadily panting and keeping pace. They had heard her. They knew she was in her own prison, and they wanted to make sure she stayed there.

They ran up the hill, Pokemon at the ready, when they came upon the battle scene.

Yacaeli and an Absol were locked in a deadly fight. The Sky Cat had her teeth at the white Pokemon's neck, claws digging into its shoulders. But the Absol had an equally fatal hold on her, with his horn positioned under her neck and his back legs scrabbling at her vulnerable underside.

"Come on," Red ordered, and they took off again, determined to intervene, when something darted right past them. They nearly tripped over each other, so overcome by surprise.

Paul cocked his head in confusion as the little boy stumbled and tripped down the hill, his arms windmilling as he tried to regain his balance. He had far too much speed for his control.

His dark hair was trying to pull away from his face, and his glasses bounced up and down on his nose. Finally, Max fell and rolled the rest of the way, winding up right in the middle of the battle.

The two creatures had broken apart, and were preparing to lunge at each other again. Max looked between the two leaping Pokemon in fear, and did the only thing that made sense to him.

He put his hands up.

***************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

I bounced.

No, seriously. I had been falling, falling, falling through the air, watching the ground come rushing up to meet me, when suddenly, I hit it, and I… bounced.

It was as if the ground were a trampoline. I had been plummeting towards the earth, collided with it, and then ricocheted straight back into the air. This continued for four or five more bounces, until I came to a skidding halt.

Flowers were everywhere. It seemed I was in a meadow, reminding me of Shaymin's Flower Paradise. I had left a rut in the meadow from skidding across the grass, and for some reason I was worried about how grass stained my butt was.

The bracelet had stopped impersonating a fire poker and now rested coolly on my wrist. Pikachu slid off my shoulder with his eyes spinning comically.

In the strange light, I saw Dawn's knife shining off to my left. I went over and scooped it up, gripping it tight. Where was that cat?

Something bowled into me like a cannon. "Oh dear Arceus, no! Ash, you can't be dead too! You were supposed to live! No, no, no, this isn't right!"

I looked down at the person who had attached themselves to my middle and did a double take. "May?" I said in shock.

May looked up. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were teary. She was missing her bandana. "We'll never get out now," she sobbed.

I wanted to cry, too, to sink to my knees and sob on May's shoulder, but at that very moment I heard Yacaeli. She was roaring in the distance. Her sounds reminded me of Misty, and what she did to her. I pried May off me and beckoned Pikachu. "C'mon, buddy," I said dangerously. "We have a cat to skin."

"Chu," he confirmed with an equally deadly tone.

I wasted no time wondering why May was here, nor questioning whether or not Paul would appear as well. I simply followed the vicious cries of Yacaeli with the knife held firmly in my hand.

When I reached her, I found myself gazing at one of the oddest sights I'd ever seen.

Yacaeli was fighting the Absol from earlier, trying to injure him while at the same time trying to cut the stone from around his neck. Or they _had been _fighting. Currently they were suspended in midair, as if being controlled by some psychic force. And then there was Max.

It wasn't his presence that confused me; it was what he was doing.

Max was standing in between them, panting with effort. Both his arms were extended, palms out. I could faintly see the air warping near his hands, like the heat of a hot day.

He was a psychic.

************************************************************My head hurts***************************************************************

Dawn stumbled around the Sky Cat's cave, clutching her wounded arm and trying her best not to break down in tears. It hurt _so bad_. The pain was ridiculous, like someone had taken her nerves and set them aflame.

Drew rushed to help her, repeating things Dawn had mentioned about injuries in a mumbling voice as he tried to tend to her arm. Leaf was helping Brock to his feet, her face green from the sight of his blood.

Shaymin scuttled around, once again a hedgehog with the disappearance of the sun. "Bring him over here!" he ordered. "If we can wake Suicune, we can heal him."

Desperate, Mew's eyes glowed with psychic energy. Suicune glowed purple and howled in pain, but he did not wake. "What do I do?" she wailed.

"Umbre."

Everyone froze and looked in the direction of the sleek black Pokemon. The Umbreon blinked her large yellow eyes and flicked an ear in annoyance.

"Do we _bother you_, Tenebri?" Mew snapped. She turned back to Suicune, firing everything she had at her fellow Legendary in a failing attempt to rouse him. "I swear by me, when I get back to Spear Pillar I'll have my daddy take you out of the evolution cycle," she spat.

The Umbreon seemed to chuckle. "Um, breon umbre," she replied.

Mew and Shaymin froze. "You wouldn't," Shaymin gasped.

"What?" Drew panicked. "Wouldn't what?"

Tenebri the Umbreon just grinned a twisted grin, and coiled her lithe figure on the floor as she prepared to wait.

***********************************************************Last day of swim tomorrow******************************************************

Yacaeli gave a throaty growl. "Foolish human," she hissed at Max. "You would dare to engage me in a battle of psychics?"

Max shook with fear. "I didn't engage anything!" he cried.

"Pikachu," I murmured, looking to my oldest friend, "she's going to break out of his hold, I know it. The instant she does, I want you to electrocute her with everything you've got."

The mouse nodded. "Pi," he agreed.

Yacaeli's eyes glowed with psychic power. "You have made a grave mistake, young human," she growled.

"Ready," I said to Pikachu. He began to crackle with electricity, probably enough to kill me if I touched him.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of people charging down the hill. Paul was in the lead, pokeballs already in his hands.

The instant they reached us, Yacaeli broke free. There was no way for Pikachu to attack without seriously injuring Paul and the other two people he had with him. Yacaeli grabbed Max in her paws and tossed him like a rag doll across the field. With Max gone, the Absol was also able to move again, and the two Pokemon circled each other, ready to fight again.

Giant birds came out of the sky, inky black and shining white. Their beaks were razor sharp and their screeches were bloodcurdling. They dove onto Yacaeli like flies to honey, tearing at her fur and eyes.

And this whole time, my anger was building up. I had seen the Sky Cat kill and hurt my friends, and it wasn't going to happen anymore.

I barely felt the heat on my arm, and simply ran into the fray and jumped on the devil Sky Cat. The bracelet exploded into flames, yet some part of my mind was controlling them. I could hear Cináed's voice, almost as if he were instructing me.

"Pikachu!" I yelled.

The mouse came, dodging birds, Psycho Cuts, and flames. He landed on my shoulder, and dug his claws into my flesh for a better hold. I winced, but Yacaeli lurched underneath me, and I was more concerned with holding on than the pain in my arm.

I twisted my arm, causing the flames to spin into the Sky Cat's head. She howled in pain and bounded forward. Two of the birds lost their grip on her and flew off in a flurry of feathers. I was flung to the side, dropping the dagger in an effort to stay on. My fingers curled into the nape of Yacaeli's neck, and I was not thrown off.

Pikachu had leapt into the air when the dagger had gone flying, and caught it in his little yellow paws. Yacaeli was already moving, however, and he landed hard in the grass.

I made a grab for the Sky Cat's ears, vicious and merciless, when her wings pulsed beneath me. Suddenly I was tossed in the air as she snapped out her wings and jumped into the sky. For the briefest of instants, I was falling, falling, falling, again.

It was as if my hand had a mind of its own. I managed to grab onto her back leg, yanking down hard. She wavered in the sky and tried to kick me off, but I held on. My shoulder was now blaring with pain from the force of grabbing her.

Pikachu was able to jump from the ground to my leg, dagger in his mouth. I took it from him with my free hand, which happened to be the hand with the bracelet. The knife heated up in my hand as if it was molten lava, and I plunged it into Yacaeli's leg.

She screeched in pain, whipping her head around to bite at me. But since we were in the air, this instead catapulted Pikachu and me over her and through the open space. We were soaring, and then falling, falling, _falling_—.

Something caught me. I looked up and saw one of the black birds gripping me in birdlike hands. "Idiot," it hissed, so that I only barely heard it.

I looked around for Yacaeli, and say her chasing us through the air. She was close enough for me to have seen the pupils of her eyes, if only there were any to see. Her moonlike eyes were glowing blue, and I thought I could see water waving in them.

Suddenly, I felt very heavy. It was as if we were being weighed down by tons and tons of water.

The bird carrying me was panting. Its wings were not moving fast enough to keep us airborne, and we were losing altitude rapidly.

Abruptly, the bird took a plunge.

We weren't just falling. We were speeding down to the ground with every intention of hitting it. I started screaming.

Then, at the very last second, the bird pulled up. My heels grazed the tips of flowers, and my heart was beating a million miles an hour. But we were alive.

Yacaeli must have seen our plan coming, because she too survived the plunge and yanked herself up in time. And her eyes glowed a very, very bright blue.

Her feet were no longer treading air. Deep blue water seemed to be forming at her paws. Suddenly, we were underwater entirely.

My bird could not fly anymore, and I could not breathe. Panic enveloped me. There was no surface. I was going to drown.

The Absol came out of nowhere, viciously raking his claws into Yacaeli's flank. She whirled around to attack him, a purple ball of energy forming between her snarling jaws.

The gem around the Absol's neck started to shimmer and glow a bloody red. Yacaeli's psychic attack dissipated in the shine of the gem, and I saw legitimate panic in her eyes.

The water around us dissolved, setting us down gently on the meadow ground. The ruby stopped glowing. The ground below us shifted, and we were no longer in the meadow. We were back in the Sky Cat's cave.

Yacaeli tried to launch herself at the Absol, but the birds held her back. "No," said the white one. "You will not harm another one of Arceus' creations."

Paul, May, and the other two people Paul had had with him were all panting on the ground. They shimmered, as if they weren't real. Max was lying on the ground of the cave, in the exact position he had landed when Yacaeli had thrown him aside.

An Umbreon that I hadn't noticed before slunk up to the Absol, her eyes glinting mischievously. It purred at the Absol, who looked ready to faint.

Suddenly, the Umbreon danced away from the Absol, cackling in a human voice. "Yes!" she exclaimed, because now I could tell it was female. She tossed the ruby up in the air, and it landed around her neck. "_Yes!_"

The mountain seemed to implode as water bombarded the peak from the outside. Rocks rained down on us, cascading on my head and on Max and on everyone save for the ones who had come with us from the meadow.

The rocks stopped falling, and we were bathed in awful moonlight. The peak of the mountain had completely blown apart. Water rested in puddles along the cave floor, and my stomach dropped with the thought of Misty.

"_Yes_," said the Umbreon again.

The Absol had a look of utter hurt and betrayal on his face. "S-sol?" it said softly.

"Do not use a pet name with me!" she snapped. "I am Tenebri! And by the end of tonight I will be the most powerful creature alive!" Her eyes never ceased to glow. "I am dark, I am psychic, and I am water! There is _nothing_ that can stop me!"

***AN: Sorry if there are any mistakes in that last bit. I got tired of editing. The chapter took me FOREVER to write. It was killer, and my aunt is staying in the room with the computer, and she sleeps 20 hours a day minimum, so I couldn't get on it much. But I did it. Yay. **

**In other news, WE HAVE HIT 200! This is amazing! Thank you, everyone, so so so much! Now, I'm going to go take a nap and hope someone will cook some lamb for me. And rice. Yummmmmm.*  
**


	33. Nightmare

_"You're now a slave until the end of time, and nothing stops the madness turning, haunting, yearning, pull the trigger! You should have known, the price of evil, and it hurts to know that you belong here" - Avenged Sevenfold "Nightmare"_

33 Nightmare

Yacaeli's greatest asset is her ability to send anyone into their worst nightmare. Even multiple people into one awful, awful dream. She works in illusions, and has spent decades devoid of her powers, perfecting them in theory. So that when she finally stole them back, she was able to use them tenfold.

However, she did not prepare for the idea that someone could possibly steal her empowered abilities and use them back on her. And that was her fatal flaw. Because the instant the Genesis Stone had fallen around the Umbreon's neck, the nightmares started.

**********************************************************Lotsa breaks in this chappie****************************************************

The only ones unaffected by Tenebri's assault were the ghosts.

At least, that was what Paul had decided to call themselves. Ghosts seemed like an appropriate term. The rocks had fallen through them, and they _had _died.

The meadow had disappeared when Yacaeli's powers were stolen, making him assume that it was run by her abilities. Now that Tenebri was in charge, every illusion Yacaeli had created had disappeared, and the Umbreon was rapidly creating her own universe.

Paul met May's shimmering eyes, and felt his stomach drop (but he didn't have one, did he?) as he observed her transparent form. She glanced from his equally unnerving figure to Tenebri, nodding to indicate they had to stop her.

He gritted his teeth. He _knew_ that, of course. What he wanted to know was the stupid Coordinator's plan to achieve that goal. Of course, he doubted anyone like _her_ was capable of planning.

May looked to the three birds, her sapphire eyes huge. "Could it work?" she whispered.

Avious smiled. "What's that saying you humans have? Ah yes: so crazy it just might work."

**************************************************************Nuther break************************************************************

Drew was reliving the horrors of every night that had ever befallen him. The day he saw his father hit his mother; the night the kids from the neighboring subdivision jumped him on his way home from the store; that awful, awful evening he lost May.

Every terrible thing that happened to him, he relived it, tenfold. And he was guided by the two demon children of himself and May, taken through the memories step by step by their bloodstained arms and cruel smiles. They still had that wretched rock.

With every memory they walked him through, they sliced his arm open. "A scar," said demon May, "to remind you of your pain."

*************************************************************Number three!***********************************************************

Leaf's nightmare hardly fazed her. It was the same one every time. In fact, Leaf was truly beginning to criticize Yacaeli's retelling of her worst nightmare (or, in this case, Tenebri wasn't doing much better). Certainly, the dream put her in a fantod, but it never truly frightened her anymore.

She had been subject to the same horrific nightmare the whole time she had been chained to that wall, and it was getting a little boring.

Yes, she hated to see her beloved Gary bloody and mangled on the floor, lying in front of the Sky Cat's bloodstained jaws. Yes, it unnerved her to watch Ash be hung and swing hauntingly by his neck. And _of course_ she was always a little scared when Giovanni pulled the knife across her throat, suffocating her and turning her vision red before going completely black.

But that was getting a tad bit repetitive.

Leaf honestly wanted to make a suggestion to Yacaeli (or Tenebri). Instead of frightening her with an age old nightmare, perhaps she should use her worst, most terrifying day.

The day Ash and Gary forgot who she was.

*************************************************************Paragraph Break 4********************************************************

Brock's worst nightmare wasn't really worth going into. Basically, every woman on earth turned into zombies and was out for his blood. The only part he liked about this dream was that for once, all the girls were chasing him, instead of the other way around.

Max, however, dreamed about losing his mind. He had gone completely berserk in his nightmare, and while he did insane things and behaved like a total lunatic, there was a part of his mind that he couldn't reach, the part that held his sanity.

Try as he might, he couldn't get there, and as he slowly lost every ability his great mind once had, he was _aware_ of it. That was the most terrifying part. He was going off the deep end, and he knew it.

**************************************************************Paragraph Break 5******************************************************

Lucas had come back for revenge. Dawn hadn't known what to do. To run would have been criminal, and to stay would have been suicide. But he was after her, and as hard as she tried to hide, he always found her.

"You heartless bitch," he said in a wispy voice, as if he were made of wind. They were in her house, and he had cornered her in a cupboard. "You sent me to my death. You killed me."

"I'm sorry Lucas!" Dawn cried through her tears.

"'Sorry' isn't good enough," he hissed. "An eye for an eye, Dawn. I loved you, and this is how you repay me? I think it's only fair that I return what you gave me in full." The ghost Lucas cocked his head to the side, his eyes full of hatred. "I'm sure Paul will help me."

Dawn sputtered with fear. She scrambled off the ground and rushed away. The scenery of her home had shifted to an eerie wood. There were whispers from the trees that sounded awfully like Paul and Lucas. Nowhere was safe. She was going to die in these creepy woods, and no one, save her dead killers, would know.

******************************************************************Number six!*********************************************************

Mew had an awful, awful nightmare.

She had been playing with Lucario, teasing him by hiding with only her tail visible, when he suddenly didn't come and find her.

"Lucario?" she called, coming out of hiding. "If this is a trick to help you win, I'm not playing anymore!"

It was then she saw the great big ship. It was made of metal, with big whirring engines on the sides. The ship glinted in the sunlight, but Mew knew it wasn't friendly. The humans never made things like that to say hello.

Lucario was already running at it. "Get out of our home!" he yelled at the metal. "You are not welcome here!"

Mew gasped. "No! Lucario, don't!" She sped off after him, flicking her tail to go faster.

"Get out of here, Mew!" he commanded her. "I don't want to see you hurt!"

She stopped. Lucario had ordered her. She would never disobey him. But him getting hurt would be even worse, and she knew it. "No!" she yelled, and she flew after him again. "I won't watch you get hurt either!"

The ship was alive. It had claws lashing out of its metal body like a giant Tentacruel. Mew tried desperately to catch up with Lucario, but he was too far ahead.

The metal claw hit him and knocked him out of the air as he jumped up to meet it. Mew saw awful red drops fly as it collided with him. She soared to where he lay, feeling tears bubbling up in her throat.

And just like that, the ship was gone. It killed Lucario, and it left. Mew never, ever found it again.

*************************************************************What, seven now?********************************************************

No one really wants to hear what Shaymin was dreaming about. Mostly all the flowers dying and no one wanting to smile with him anymore. Not terribly exciting.

Suicune's never ending nightmare, however, was terrible. He dreamed about Celebi falling out of the sky, shriveled and old. He saw his brothers Entei and Raikou face the wrath of Arceus on his behalf. He dreamed about what Ho-oh would say when he saw what Suicune had done to the other Legendaries. He was hated, exiled, and rejected. No one wanted him.

He was a traitor, forever incriminated by what he did. Nothing would ever change that.

****************************************************************Why was 6 afraid of 7?**************************************************

"I created you," Arceus hissed. "I breathed life into your corpse. I can take it back just as easily."

"But you won't," Yacaeli snarled.

Arceus let out a furious hiss. "No," he growled. "But I will take away your powers. I will give them to Lugia, and together we will take down Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina."

The Sky Cat smirked. "You can't bear to admit that I was right, can you? I told you they would come for you."

"You were plotting it yourself!" he screamed. "You told me of it, and then you turned around and made sure your prediction came true!" The Great Creator narrowed his eyes, and there was clearly pain in them. "How can I trust you anymore?"

Yacaeli still can't understand why she did it. It was the most moronic move she had ever performed, and she regretted it to this day. The Sky Cat leapt on her former mate, pinning him to the ground with her deadly claws extended.

"You can't," she purred in his ear.

And that was how the great Sky Cat fell from the moon to the earth, and that was her nightmare. Every blow Arceus had hit her with, every one she had countered with, and every hit he had taken. It had pained her so greatly. She would never be rid of it, not as long as she lived.

Yacaeli almost wanted to die, so this pain of betraying her love would go away. And yet, she wanted to live, if only to tell him she was sorry.

**************************************************************Because 7 8 9!**********************************************************

The scenery had changed again. I had been in the cave just seconds ago, and now I was in nothing. The world around me was murderously black. I don't think I was actually standing on solid ground, but rather just there.

It was like a canvas that was yet to be painted. For some reason, I expected things to start popping up out of the darkness.

And wouldn't you know it, they _did._

First, the color of the place changed. Then ground appeared, then trees sprung up, then dark clouds, and so on, until I was standing in a full scenery and couldn't even remember what it was before.

It wasn't a happy place. The sky was dark and menacing, with evil clouds furling around like a witch's brew. Lightning lit up the sky, revealing for an instant the treacherous landscape before me. A resounding thunderclap followed, so loud that I felt my bones shake.

I was on a cliff, with a sprinkling of trees standing behind me. They were bent in awkward positions, as if their growth had been interfered with by something villainous. Down below, past the sheer face of the cliff, the sea roared with fury. It crashed into the cliff face, so violently that I was brought to my knees and the rock actually cracked.

It was the loudest thing I had ever experience. My thoughts were drowned out by the howling of the wind threatening to pluck me off the cliff, not to mention the hurricane going on around me. I saw things in brief flashes, for the only light came from the sadistic bolts of electricity around me.

It took me a while to realize what was wrong with the picture, until another boom of thunder forced me to lie down and grip the ground for dear life. I was looking down at the roiling waves below (just the watching them made me feel seasick) and was forced to view a sight I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.

Everyone. Everyone I had ever known, ever spoken to, ever loved was in the water, rolling up and down with the waves. Their pale, cold bodies were tossed around like dolls, thrown into the cliff and dragged under again and again. I could see their eyes, their glassy, lifeless eyes as if they glowed in the darkness.

"Oh," I gasped. My hand flew to my mouth. I was going to be sick. Trembling, I brought myself up to all fours and threw up over the edge. The retching left me coughing and gasping for air, and at some point they melded into tears and sobs. Misty was dead. Brock too. May and Max and Drew. Paul and Dawn and—oh God, was that Mom down there too? My Pokemon were there as well, looking sickening with their fur and feathers clinging to their bodies like drowned Raticate.

I couldn't bear the sight anymore. Shaking from my weeps and from being sick, I gently laid myself down on the rock and faced the perilous clouds above. I was alone.

"Alone," I said aloud, though I barely heard it.

The wind picked up and tore my hat from my head. I heard the waves below crash into the cliff again, and flinched at the thought of Misty's body being blown to bits against the rock. The thunder and lightning laughed at my misery.

I felt fresh tears well up in my eyes again. My throat felt hot and scratchy, and my nose and eyes burned with sobs. "I'M ALONE!" I screamed to the sky. In a deranged fury, I slammed my fists into the rock. "COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY ALONE! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?"

It wanted to taunt me, whatever it was. Poke fun at my pain and laugh at my tears. Well, I didn't give a fuck. I was angry, miserable, and _alone_.

I hardly noticed the fire tear through the fabric of the dream.

***AN: Did you all get the joke up there? I hope so. **

**So, the chickens and I made a deal. For every review I get, one of them will stop picking on Ophelia. Ophelia is the only chicken we have with a name, because her legs don't work right and thus we can tell her apart. Because of her handicap, the other chickens want to eat her. So, donate to the "Save Ophelia" fund by reviewing! I'll need at least six, cuz there's six chickens other than Ophelia. I would put up a picture of her, but I can't link it to anything but Facebook. **

**If you all REALLY want to see her picture, I'll put it up as my Avatar from the time I post the next chapter to the one after it, but in order to tell me, YOU MUST REVIEW! I feel like a solicitor. So... to stop soliciting, I'm saying bye now. Bye.*  
**


	34. Second Awakenings

_"We were the kings and queens of promise. We were the victims of ourselves. Maybe the children of a lesser God, between Heaven and Hell" - 30 Seconds to Mars "Kings and Queens"_

34 Second Awakenings

Absol, for some reason, did not receive a nightmare. He had been expecting something truly awful from Tenebri, as she knew him better than any other being alive, but strangely, the attack passed over him.

So, before Tenebri noticed he was still awake, Absol rushed upwards, perching himself on one of the fallen stones. He heard the Umbreon growl as she saw him move, and braced himself for the dreams.

As sleep clouded his vision, Absol fought to crane his neck and send out the calling. Arceus would hear him, certainly. The sound resounded deep in his throat, and became a strangled cry as the nightmares enveloped him.

But Arceus had heard him. He knew it.

**************************************************************Paragraph Break*********************************************************

May's plan was simple; jump on Tenebri and knock her out. She recalled the Sky Warriors had managed to hold Yacaeli back, while the nightmare onslaught from Tenebri had passed right over them. Perhaps they could _touch_ her, without being affected by anything she threw at them.

Polevous and Bellemistis received the orders from Avious through telepathy. Paul was left, confused beyond reason, without any instruction.

Tenebri had just taken down the Absol, and was now emitting dark pulses of energy from the air around her, warping the mountain and making time seem oddly slowed. May and the Sky Warriors rushed forward, but it looked as if they were moving through molasses. Tenebri was sparking with purple lightning, her psychic energy too much for her to contain now.

Paul watched in shock as May extended her arms to grab the Pokemon and bring her down. He hoped against hope that it would work, that she could touch Tenebri and win this battle for now. But that was all it was; hope.

May's fingers slipped right through Tenebri, and the Umbreon didn't even notice her. Dismayed, she tried again to grab the creature, but her hand went through her. "No," she whispered.

Polevous appeared beside her and made a grab for Tenebri, but the attempt was futile. His feathered hands made no differentiation between the air and the black creature before them. He turned to May, his red eyes showing signs of distress. "It _was_ a good plan," he told her.

"Why can we touch Yacaeli and not her!" hollered May. She looked back at the bird with fear in her sapphire eyes.

"Perhaps we have a connection with the Sky Cat that we do not share with Tenebri," Polevous said calmly. "She _did_ create us, and only we Sky Warriors touched her. Perhaps _you_ cannot touch her. You do not share such a special bond."

May blinked, the anguish clear on her face. Her plan had failed. It hadn't even had a chance to get started, and it had failed.

Paul, however, was going over what the bird had said. His mind was a whir as he deciphered the meaning of a "special bond." A bond of servant and master? Or creator and creation? What about a bond of love? Or… of memories?

As he began to figure this out, Ash twitched in his sleep. Paul glanced down at his rival, wondering what kind of horror he could be experiencing. His eyes widened to the size of pokeballs when he saw his friend's wrist. The bracelet rested on it, at first appearing to be cool and uninteresting. It wasn't until he looked at it for a few seconds that he saw that the golden bracelet was emitting a gleam of soft, deadly red, like a hot coal.

Or the smoldering ashes of a fire.

************************************************************Paragraph Break***********************************************************

Of course Arceus had heard Absol. He had been waiting since the day he sent the loyal Pokemon on his mission for word of what was happening. He had also expected word from Mew and Shaymin, but those two were so playful and childish that chances were they forgot.

But this cry from Absol hadn't been a simple news update. It had been a distress call. Arceus was fairly certain he and the arrogant Umbreon were in trouble.

"Celebi!" cried the great Pokemon.

In came the twittering little Legendary. "Yes Father?" she said. Her calm nature emanated from her, making the entire Hall feel more peaceful.

He looked at her sternly. "You and Entei," he commanded. "Keep everything in order while I'm gone."

"Not Rayquaza?" she asked, shocked.

Arceus shook his noble head. "No. He's too sporadic. I don't trust him."

Celebi nodded. "Farewell, Father."

The great creature nodded, and he raced away to Yacaeli's mountain.

*************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

"You're doing good, kid," said Cináed. My father had sauntered into my dream like it was a park. "I honestly didn't expect you to get this far."

I looked up at him from where I laid on the ground, broken and weak. I wanted to say something, but nothing relatively audible came out, so I settled for, "Ugh."

Dad chuckled. "You know, it was pretty hard for me to get here," he admitted. "If it hadn't been for Mom's bracelet, I'd still be on the outside."

Blearily, I gazed at my wrist. There were flames, but I couldn't feel them. I blinked and went back to staring idiotically at my father.

"Do you know why that thing is so powerful against Yacaeli, even though she's part water?" he asked, crouching down beside me.

My eyes flicked away from his face and instead focused on the maleficent clouds above. I was drenched in their tears—and not tears of sorrow, no. The clouds were laughing so hard at me, they were _crying_. They thought it was just plain hilarious that I was as scared as I was.

Cináed smiled. "I guess that's a no," he said. He sat down with a grunt, and he seemed to be genuinely enjoying the rain. "Yacaeli's specialty isn't water," he began, "it's psychic. That fire is _the only fire_ that can penetrate the wall between reality…" He paused to tap his skull, "and mentality." ***AN: I know, bad use of "mentality," but Cináed's no grammar major.***

I was in no condition to absorb information, so I just lay there, incompetent.

My father grabbed my wrist around the bracelet, forcing me to look at him. "This is a weapon that can burn _minds_, Ash," he said seriously. "It is both real and imaginary. _Just like Yacaeli_."

I blinked. No words were willing to volunteer, so I remained silent.

He shook his head and patted my arm. "Well, you're going to wake up in a minute anyways, so I guess you'll figure it out yourself." Cináed stood and started walking away.

Suddenly, I found my voice. "Wait!" I cried, and it sounded awful and dry.

My father turned and smirked. "Yeah?"

I forced myself to sit up on my elbows. "Will it burn an Umbreon?" I questioned wearily.

Cináed actually laughed. "You mean Tenebri?" I nodded fervently, making myself feel nauseous again. He grinned. "Burn her to a crisp," he whispered.

Suddenly, the world around me burned away like it was paper, taking my father with it. I blinked away the remaining darkness and woke up to an immense weight on my chest. The air was forced out my mouth as I was crushed by an invisible pressure. "Help," I managed. "Help."

Every inch of me was being flattened by some unseen force. I could see, through eyes that felt as if they were popping, those we had rescued from the meadow, and Tenebri cackling as she radiated dark and psychic energy. It was an unheard of combination. Through the purple and black wisps emitting from her body, I could see the glow of the ruby around her neck.

Paul appeared kneeling at my head. "Stand up," he whispered. "I don't think the energy can crush you if you're on your feet."

I pushed against the force while he sat back, watching. "Aren't you going to help me?" I gasped. It felt like my blood was being forced through veins much smaller than it could tolerate.

"I can't touch you," he replied.

With a glare (why on earth would he say something like that _now_, of all times?) I managed to get my hand behind my back. _Fire_, I thought. _I need fire to propel me forward._ And, to my amazement, it _worked._

The bracelet exploded in a jet of flames, burning a hole right through my jacket yet leaving my skin unscathed. I was thrust forward, up into a sitting position.

Using my momentum, I jumped to my feet. Paul had been right. The energy from Tenebri now only felt like smoggy air instead of an omnipresent force. Carefully, I raised my arm. "I'm going to hit her," I said quietly. "Maybe I'll catch her off guard long enough to wake up everyone else."

"Pika!" My most faithful partner leapt onto my shoulder and rubbed my cheek affectionately. Briefly I wondered why he hadn't been affected by the nightmares, but I quickly dismissed the thought. Now wasn't the time to worry about that.

I smiled determinedly. "When I hit her with fire," I told him, "I want you to throw her some electricity."

Pikachu nodded. "Cha!"

And with that, we attacked.

Tenebri noticed at the last second that she was under attack. The fire and lightning hit at the perfect instant, creating a wondrous explosion of sparks and smoke. It left me coughing and unable to see, but when it cleared, Tenebri was unconscious. Her body was charred, and I could smell her burnt fur. The ruby around her neck still shimmered with power.

There was coughing, and suddenly Drew sat up bolt right. He was wild eyed and gasping for air, clutching his arm as if he were wounded. After a moment, he seemed to notice he was awake and relaxed.

Leaf woke next. She blinked blearily at the change of scenery, but evidently was unfazed by her nightmare. One of the other people from the meadow ran to her excitedly. I blinked as I noticed he looked oddly like Gary.

May was kneeling by her brother, watching with worried eyes as she waited for him to wake. She reached out, trying to smooth his hair, but her hand went—holy crap her hand went _right through him_.

I was still reeling after realizing this when Dawn came up beside me, teary eyes focused not on me, but on the shimmering form of Paul before us. "You're alive?" she whispered.

Paul glanced at her, but otherwise did not answer. "We should get out of here," he murmured. "It's not worth it."

"No!" I yelled, and he looked rather taken aback. "She killed Misty!" I pointed at Yacaeli's sleeping form, only to realize that the Sky Cat was no longer sleeping. In fact, she was on her feet, standing over Tenebri's fried body. Her glistening teeth were an inch away from the Umbreon's neck.

_She's going to kill her,_ I thought, and immediately I decided that I couldn't let that happen. I ran at the Sky Cat, gathering flames in my palm, when suddenly, Yacaeli bit down…

…on the ruby around Tenebri's neck. The gem shattered into millions of pieces, and a powerful wind blew from inside it. I was pushed back for an instant, but I was able to see Yacaeli's powers ghost their way from the remains of the stone to Yacaeli's chest. She grinned evilly. "Excellent," she hissed.

Several things happened at once. Yacaeli locked eyes with me and began her assault, while the three birds from the meadow dove at her with furious screeches. Sometimes they hit her, sometimes they flew right through her, but it was enough to hold her off.

The Absol woke up, shaking its head briskly to clear it of fatigue. It launched itself into the fray, determined to do as much damage to Yacaeli as it could. Suicune, Mew, and Shaymin also awakened, and saw the birds as enemies. They attacked them, one for each bird.

Max and Brock came back into the conscious world, while Pikachu decided he was needed in the brawl that was going on before us and joined it himself. Now, mixed in with the occasional purple flash of psychic energy, feathers, and Aura Spheres, there were the telltale lightning bolts from Pikachu.

I had to do something. I couldn't let everyone just duke it out without me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my reflection. He grinned at me, gave me a salute, and pointed to where the cave opened up to the sky.

Wait—_my reflection?_

Before I could get a closer look at the boy who looked just like me, a great cry brought my attention to the open ceiling of the cavern. There, amidst the rocks, with the moon silhouetting him perfectly, was the most powerful creature in the world.

Arceus.

***AN: Bah, I know it's short, but I had to give myself a starting point for the next chapter. I also apologize if there are any errors in this chapter, but I did NOT want to edit it. And there are tiny bugs buzzing around my computer, and it's bothering me. **

**Well, my pic of Ophelia the handicap chicken is up and running! I put the Band Aids on her, haha. The other birds really beat her up. So, if you want her saved, REVIEW! You won't regret it! SAVE THE CUTE HANDICAPPED CHICKEN!*  
**


	35. The Fight of the Century

_"My life is for the taking, break down is awaking me; I'm ending all this pain and when you fought me in the morning, hanging on a warning, oh, the joke is on you! You said you were pretending, here's to unhappy endings, oh, the joke is on you!" - Lifehouse "The Joke"_

35 The Fight of the Century

Arceus leapt delicately from his perch on the rocks and landed with a light tap on the floor of the cave. He regarded the scene before him with an air of distaste. We stood in silence as he inspected us, his red eyes gleaming with disgust. "What is going on here?" he said in a deep, booming voice.

"We're fighting," snapped my reflection. He smirked at Arceus with more defiance than I could ever muster to a creature like him. "Or are your eyes _really_ that tiny?"

The Pokemon glared at him, but said nothing. He turned his attention to the frozen melee before him, in which a bird was yanking on Mew's tail, Shaymin had its teeth buried deep in Yacaeli's paw, and the second bird had its talons in her head while the third was occupied with Suicune. Pikachu was about to electrocute the three Legendaries to alert them that the birds were on their side, and the Absol's lone horn was glowing with an unused Psycho Cut.

"Suicune," he said, and his voice reverberated around us, "have you found your place?"

Suicune dropped the bird he had been holding in his mouth and swallowed nervously. "Y-yes Father," it stammered.

Arceus nodded. "Absol," he said before facing it. "You rang?"

The Absol behaved similarly to Suicune. "W-well, you see, Father Arceus, T-Tenebri was attacking us and she—."

Yacaeli cut him off. "Nice of you to show up," she snarled.

Arceus scowled. "Been a while, hasn't it, Yacaeli?"

"Aw crap," Brock mumbled. "Lover's quarrel, here we go."

Drew dragged himself over to the cave wall, resting against it. He caught my eye and grinned. "You know," he said, "despite how terrible this situation is, I'm really excited to see these two go at it."

"This has been a long time coming," Yacaeli growled, her tail swishing. I could already see water forming at the tip. The water made me think of Misty, and, of course, that just infuriated me.

Was it me, or did Arceus smirk? "So it has," he replied. The yellow rings around his midsection began to shimmer with an oncoming attack.

Yacaeli grinned as well, crouching down with her claws digging into the soil and her rear end wriggling in the air. To her, Arceus was just an overly large Rattata that she could pick off with one swipe of her paw.

I'm sure she looked the same to him.

I guess the hero in me decided to act up right then, realizing that if I let the two Legendaries fight, no one would benefit from it. I could control the bracelet now that my anger was at its peak. With a determined expression, I swung my arm through the air. A blaze of flames appeared, and I moved _just right_ so that they snaked to the ground and ran up a barrier between Arceus and Yacaeli.

Yacaeli had already sprung, but the fire grew faster than her fall, and in an instant Yacaeli was flapping her wings in an attempt to backpedal in the air. "_Arceus!_" she screamed in rage. "_What have you done?_"

Arceus, however, was looking just as scared as she was. Evidently he had never seen this sort of fire before. I actually thought it looked different than it usually did. It had sort of an odd, pinkish tinge to it.

"You," he growled. Arceus set his demon red eyes on me. "What have you done?"

I took a step back, not fearfully, just… out of concern for my wellbeing. What I stepped on wasn't stone. Thankfully it wasn't air, either.

Nope, what I stepped on was Dawn's knife.

I had lost track of the weapon through all the mayhem, and suddenly, it was underneath my feet. _He hunts in the Morning,_ I thought, reciting the legend from the book. Was the sky above me growing lighter?

For some reason, I got the idea that the knife would protect me just as well as the bracelet, so I scooped it up and held it defensively. "She killed Misty," I gasped, feeling my heart pound with fear and the resurfacing anger. Thinking of her death caused the bracelet to spark. "You can't touch her until she brings her back."

To my surprise, Arceus laughed. "Bring her back? From the dead? My boy, that is impossible!"

I blinked. What? Weren't these two Pokemon the most powerful in the universe? My eyes narrowed to slits. "What do you mean?" I said testily.

"Yacaeli was created to be an immortal, all powerful force," said Arceus, and at his words, she attempted to lunge at him. The fire blocked her path, however, and she was forced to sit quietly and listen. "I made her so she would win, always."

I felt myself lower the weapons I had in confusion. On Arceus's side of the fire, Leaf and the guy who looked like Gary were holding on to each other, yet watching me as if they were scared. Drew, May, and Max's unconscious form were also on his side, hovering around the young boy protectively. I saw him stir.

My eyes flicked to Yacaeli's side. Brock had managed to sit himself up and was shallowly breathing against the wall. Dawn had sunken to the ground, obviously in too much pain to stand, while Paul stood over her protectively. And, behind him, was someone who made me think I was looking into a mirror.

"I don't understand," I said slowly. "You're not making any sense."

"It means that when I kill something, it's dead," Yacaeli spat.

A bolt of fear shot through me. "What? No! You're… you're _Arceus_! You can do anything! You made this whole universe, made all these people. You can bring one back from the dead, can't you?"

Arceus shook his head. "You have been misled."

This wasn't right. Misty wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to _live_, with me, and be my best friend and even more. There were tears leaking from my eyes now. "_You're lying!_" I screamed, and I lunged.

The bracelet exploded in a flurry of flames, and Arceus was so unprepared that I actually managed to hit him. My hands moved without my mind controlling them, the knife cutting through his fur and the flames singeing his skin. I hardly realized what I was doing through my red tinged vision, until the great creature retaliated.

The Hyper Beam threw me into the crumbling cave wall, and the wind rushed out of my lungs. "Foolish human," he hissed. "Be careful of whom you meddle with."

I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Arceus' white fur was blackened in some areas, and he was oozing a silvery liquid that I assumed was his blood. I, too, was bleeding in some places, but I hardly felt them. They were nothing compared to pain I was feeling inside.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu. In a heartbeat he was standing in front of me, glaring at Arceus. "Pika pi!"

"Exactly, Daddy," Mew said, and she floated over me defensively as well. "I won't let you hurt him like that."

Shaymin scuttled on over. "Me neither," he proclaimed.

Arceus glared. "My own children, turned against me?"

"Family doesn't mean much, does it?" Yacaeli jeered.

My vision was blurring with tears and fatigue. I felt like I had in my nightmare. There was nothing I could do except watch others lay their lives before mine. "Don't…" I breathed, but if anyone heard me, they ignored me.

The great Pokemon snarled in fury. "Then you all will perish together," he hissed. "My Judgment will be swift and harsh."

Arceus pawed the ground, and he charged at us. The Pokemon around me remained where they were, determined to stand their ground.

"MAX!" was the last thing I ever heard.

Or thought I would ever hear. Because Arceus had stopped.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes, wondering why my death was being delayed. Someone was standing between Arceus and the other Pokemon protecting me. Someone short…

"Max?" I said, shocked. "Are you out of your mind?"

He winced when I said it. "No," he grunted. "I'm protecting you."

Mew twirled happily. "I'll help!" she said. She closed her enormous eyes, and Arceus was actually pushed back.

The great Pokemon reared against the psychic force, and his overcharged Hyper Beam broke the shield. However, it was not without consequence. This time, he had to rest.

Max had flown into me with the force of the attack, and I managed to slow down his fall enough that I was not injured. "I knew you were crazy," I whispered.

"Don't _say_ that," he snapped.

"Max, what were you thinking?" May screamed. "Get out of there!"

In all the distraction, the fire had died away. "Finally," Yacaeli growled. She jumped.

Paul had seen her intentions before the rest of us, as had the three birds. "Polevous!" Paul shouted, stepping forward to attack Yacaeli.

The three birds took off, diving onto her like the blitzkrieg. The instant her claws sunk into Arceus, their beaks tore into her fur.

I gathered up the injured Max. "C'mon," I urged. "Let's get you to safety." For good measure, I shot a jet of flames in that direction.

I didn't realize that the fire, while achieving the task of encircling the two quarrelling lovers, cut off Paul. He couldn't slow down fast enough, and he stumbled into the flames.

He burned for only a few moments, but it was enough for him to realize the pain. His shrieks were inhuman, and they blended well with the ones coming from the battle on the other side of the flames.

I dragged Max to May, who looked more terrified than I had ever seen her, and went back to retrieve Dawn's knife. Something was going to feel the end of it, and I could only hope it was Yacaeli or Arceus.

"You betrayed me!" Arceus screamed, and he bucked Yacaeli off him. The three birds scattered, squawking indignantly. They retreated back to guard the burnt Paul and Dawn. This left only Arceus and Yacaeli, and the rest of us resorted to being spectators.

"And you're a dirty hypocrite," she growled back. Yacaeli whipped her tail around, and a slash of psychic energy sliced at her former lover. He took the hit, and sucked in air to relieve the pain. "I swore I would kill you for what you did to me."

Arceus knelt down, and his entire body began to glow a soft yellow. He was Recovering from her blow. "Because of you, Giratina has been banished to the Distortion World, and his brothers have retreated to dimensions of their own creation!" Fully healed, Arceus jumped up and slammed back into the ground. The earth cracked at the force of his return, causing Yacaeli to lose her footing for a moment. But her wings helped her regain balance, and in no time she had retaliated.

"I did nothing!" Yacaeli snapped. She swiped her paw through the air, and ice gripped Arceus' feet. He struggled against it, and found himself immobile. "_You_ were the one who sent them there!" The Sky Cat waved her tail and lashed out with a whip of water.

Ducking, Arceus dodged her watery weapon. He whipped his head around, creating a deep fog to shield himself. "Because you made it so I could not trust them!" he retorted. With a mighty yank he freed his legs from the ice and ran at her.

Yacaeli saw him coming and slid out of the way, allowing Arceus to pass her. As he did, she leapt from behind, claws out. "You never give me a chance to explain myself!" she screeched. He was just as evasive as she was, and was out of range by the time she landed. "I can bring the human back, you know! But you never let me talk! Now, I'm going to talk as long as I want!"

I froze. "She can bring her back?" On impulse, I threw the knife without any hope that it would actually hit something. I hadn't been aiming for injury, but for a distraction.

Miraculously, I hit Arceus in the leg. The creature howled in pain and bent down in an attempt to yank it out with his teeth. I raced to get between him and Yacaeli before she could take advantage of his inattention.

"You can bring Misty back?" I repeated, standing defensively in front of Arceus. My legs were shaking with fear and anxiety. If it was true, if the Sky Cat could resurrect Misty, then...

Yacaeli's bright yellow eyes gleamed at the obstacle between herself and her prey (i.e. me). Her claws curled in the soil, wings fluttering softly as she sat herself down. The great cat seemed to take an eternity to respond, but when she did, it was short, calm, and simply. She said, "Yes."

***AN: Oh, it was SO SHORT! I hate it! But I had major writer's block on this. The story is actually starting to go where I didn't want it to. But I think I can make it work. The poll right now has Happy Ending in the lead, sooo that's probably how it's going to go, eh? But remember, I'm spontaneous, so you never know. **

**Just this month, I have gotten almost 1,000 visitors and 3,000 hits to this story, which I find fantastical. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You guys are the bomb and I love you all. Thank you for all the kind reviews and everything! And thank you all for helping to save Ophelia! I'm going to keep her pic up for one more update, so if you haven't seen her yet, GO LOOK! K? Byes!*  
**


	36. Sacrifices and Resurrections

_"If I smile and don't believe soon I know I'll wake from this dream, don't try to fix me, I'm not broken. Hello, I am the lie living for you so you can hide. Don't cry" - Evanescence "Hello"_

36 Sacrifices and Resurrections

My legs buckled beneath me. The relief was so strong I could feel it literally weighing me down. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. This was wonderful. She could come back. I couldn't believe it.

Yacaeli smirked. "Close your mouth, human. It's not that unbelievable."

At that moment, Arceus had yanked the knife out of his leg. He held it in his teeth, and it dripped his silver blood. "Human," he spat, and the weapon clanged to the ground, "do you have a death wish?"

I shook my head. "Not anymore." I knelt down before Yacaeli. "Please, bring her back."

Yacaeli smiled her creepy smile, and was about to say something, but Arceus attacked her again. "Fool!" he screamed, and he rammed into her with his head. "The dead are not supposed to come back!"

The Sky Cat recoiled, hissing angrily. "What about _them_, hm?" She waved her tail at Paul, May, Gary's clone and my reflection. "They have died, and yet here they stand."

"You cannot kill unless you have torn them apart with your own claws!" Arceus cried. He jumped in the air and tried to land on her.

She evaded his assault and snapped her jaws viciously. "Or if I have obliterated their bodies beyond repair," she hissed. "Like Polevous and his warriors."

"The Sky Warriors are not dead, either," he argued. "They are lost souls who will forever wander the realms of time and space without a place to go. The others still have bodies to return to."

"No I don't," Paul called, wincing in pain. Bright red burns covered his body through holes in his clothes. "I was buried."

"And I fell off a cliff," May added.

Arceus looked at Yacaeli, his eyes set in a glare. "You see what you have created? Unattached souls that will never come to rest."

The Sky Cat blinked, and she continued to stare at Paul. "Why…" she began, but she never finished her thought.

"Why what?" Arceus snapped. Yacaeli remained silent, narrowing her yellow eyes at Paul with a most curious look. "_What is it, Yacaeli?_" he said in a dangerous tone.

When she continued to say nothing, Arceus got furious. "You will answer when I speak to you!" he howled, and he rammed right into the distracted Yacaeli. She went soaring backwards, tumbling across the ground as she tried to regain her footing. "How can you bring them back?" he demanded as she struggled to her feet. Arceus slammed his foot down on her wing, pinning her down. "_Answer me!_"

Yacaeli gasped in pain. Her wing curled and writhed in an attempt to get out from under his weight, but it was to no avail. "Genesis… Stone…" she breathed.

I watched Arceus scowl in confusion. He hadn't seen her destroy the stone, and thus didn't know what happened to it. He turned, looking for Absol. "What happened?" he asked in a deadly voice.

The Absol scuffed its paws across the ground. "Father, I am sorry, but Tenebri—."

Again, Arceus cut him off by glancing at the body of the fallen Umbreon. There she lay, blackened and burned, with the chain that once held the precious stone still around her neck. He took his foot off her wing and backed away, terrified. "No," he whispered.

Yacaeli bared her teeth evilly. "Yes," she replied. "I am immortal now." Her eyes glittered with a villainous joy. She said the next three words as if each were its own sentence. "Just. Like. You."

Arceus continued to back away from her. "I refuse to believe it," he said softly.

"We will battle until the end of times," Yacaeli continued. "We will be injured, yes, but we will never die. Isn't that what you always wanted, Arceus?" She stepped after him. "To live together, forever?"

I got up from my kneel and marched over to the two. The bracelet gleamed on my wrist. "Before you engage in this never ending war," I said, "I want you to bring my friends back from the dead."

Yacaeli glared at Arceus. "Will you let me, darling?" she teased.

He said nothing, but met her gaze evenly.

With a snicker, Yacaeli turned away from him. She waved her tail in the air, drawing the water. Droplets gather at her tasseled tail, slowly accumulating to a whirlpool. She guided the water to the earth, and when the base of the vortex touched down, they formed feet. Then legs. A torso, arms, neck, and finally a head. Beautiful red hair flowed from the scalp, and I couldn't have been happier to see her.

Unfortunately, I had to look away, mostly because I like to assure myself I wasn't a pervert. Guess Yacaeli couldn't produce clothes like she could a human being.

"Holy shit, where are my clothes?" Misty screamed. "More importantly, where's the creep that took them? He's gonna regret it!"

Yep. Misty was alive and well. "You automatically assume it's a he," I called without turning around. The blush in my cheeks was ridiculous.

"Quick, put this on!" I heard Drew yell. He was the only one with clothes to spare, and Misty gratefully donned his jacket.

Yacaeli chuckled. "The other two, now." She closed her eyes, and I saw Paul's burnt form start to solidify.

"You are not immortal," Arceus hissed. I saw the great beast rearing for his next attack. "I will prove it."

Yacaeli hadn't heard him. Paul and May were becoming more solid with each passing moment. She was bringing two of my closest friends back to life. I could not let Arceus touch her.

I was about to rush between the two, determined to defend the Sky Cat with my life, but someone else beat me to it.

**********************************************************Gonna hate this, I know it********************************************************

Leaf yanked herself out of Blue's grasp and started running. He got up and chased after her. "What are you doing?" he screamed.

"Saving you!" Leaf yelled back.

The instant the Hyper Beam was fired, Leaf jumped between Arceus and Yacaeli. The attack hit her full force; she wasn't built to resist that kind of power. She wasn't made to survive that kind of fatal blow.

Her screams echoed long after she vanished. There was no body left behind. Blue was yelling, screaming, panicking, but the scene before him was fading, fading, fading, until it melded into the computer screen before him and became Professor Rowan's lab.

Gary realized he was crying, and he wasn't sure why. Something terrible had just happened. He couldn't control his sobs. They were terrible and hurt his chest and made his heart race. An awful pain ached in his heart, causing him to keel over and lay his head on the desk.

Memories began to surface. He knew the girl now. Her name was Leaf. She was beautiful and happy and loving and everything he could ever want. He was in love with her, and she with him. He was remembering dates and kisses and delicate arms wrapping around his neck.

And now he knew she was dead.

**************************************************************Forgot this one************************************************************

I saw it. I saw it all. Leaf took the attack for Yacaeli. And it killed her. Arceus killed her.

Arceus killed my best friend's love. He would pay dearly.

The fire came. I didn't realize what I was telling it to do. I aimed it at Arceus. He was burning, and I was thrilled.

Yacaeli panicked. She dowsed him with water repeatedly. Nothing worked. I vaguely remember her leaping on me, demanding I put out the flames. She still loved him. She regretted everything she ever did to him.

Mew and Shaymin joined her, begging me to save their father. They told me things like all life would end if Arceus died. I didn't care. He should burn for an eternity for what he did. He was the reason everything had gone wrong. He was the reason everyone had died the first time around.

He had created Yacaeli, and then grew to fear the very thing his hands made. So he let it loose on me and my friends. Realizing he was to blame for my misery, the flames grew even larger.

For some reason, Arceus wasn't screaming in pain. Maybe he knew he deserved to burn. Maybe he was welcoming the flames.

Suddenly, something was on my throat. I found my airways were blocked, forcing me to come out of my stupor and face reality. Yacaeli's furious yellow eyes were an inch from mine, her head at least three times larger than mine. "You will not kill him," she hissed. "I know what that fire can do. It will burn anything. It _will_ kill Arceus. I want you to stop." She hesitated. "Or it is their lives—," she waved her tail at my friends, "that will suffer for it."

I blinked at the great cat. "Is that all you care about?" I whispered, though I was certain she could hear me over the commotion around us. Everyone was screaming in terror at the sight of the burning creature. "The one who banished you to this life of hatred, you want him to live?"

The Sky Cat's eyes went wide, and her paw on my throat relaxed a little bit. "I still love him," she said softly.

I stared at her. "Why?"

She was shaking, and I had never seen anything so powerful look so weak. "I don't know," she whispered. "But please, spare his life."

I was overcome with sympathy. Without taking my eyes off her pleading moons, I forced the flames to shrink, and finally dissipate completely. When she was certain he was no longer burning, Yacaeli left me lying on the ground and rushed over to Arceus. She was going to pour her heart out, tell him everything, and beg him to take her back—.

And in an instant, Arceus had her pinned to the ground, his teeth at her neck. "Why did I ever let you live?" he growled. "The moment you turned on me, I should have ripped your throat out. But I allowed my emotions to get in the way. I… I became so _human_, and it sickens me. So I shall end this, right now. You will die, my beautiful Sky Cat, and I shall not regret it."

"Yes you will."

"Be quiet, Mew!" Arceus snapped.

"No!" Mew wailed. "I just saw Mother bring the humans back from the dead, and do you know why she did it? She still loves you! You love the humans, so she made sure she did not kill them to honor you."

Arceus hesitated. Yacaeli cried silently, her tears leaving streaks in her pale fur. "I do not believe it," he said forcefully. He leaned down, near her ear. "If I kill you," he whispered, "and decide it was a mistake, I can always make another one. You are disposable, just like the humans. I can make a million of you, Yacaeli, and eventually, one will be just like you."

Yacaeli looked away, swallowing her tears. "Then what are you waiting for?"

***********************************************************Gonna hate this too***********************************************************

Mew knew it was wrong. Her father would regret killing his mate for all eternity. She had to stop it.

But she was scared. Mew was terrified Arceus would punish her. She had to give Yacaeli at least some time to run. Her heart pounded in her chest, banging against her ribcage.

_Lucario wouldn't be this scared,_ she told herself. Mew took a deep breath and summoned her energy. The force field grew in strength and size, and when she was certain it was more than powerful enough, she closed her eyes and rammed into Arceus.

The great Pokemon was knocked to the ground, releasing his hold on Yacaeli. "Go!" Mew screamed. "Run!"

Yacaeli just looked at her with pitiful eyes. "I can't leave the mountain, child," she whispered.

Mew stared at her in desperation. It had all been for naught. Now Arceus would kill the both of them. It was all over.

Suddenly, Mew saw the human run up to Yacaeli. She stared at him in confusion, as did his Pikachu. "Yacaeli!" he yelled, and he was shaking with fear. "I am going to burn the chain that binds you to this mountain."

"No!" Arceus howled. He got up and careened into Ash, sending the fragile human into the cave wall again. This time, Mew heard things snap, and Ash did not get back up.

The blue haired human let out a scream. Yacaeli rolled to her feet with her teeth bared. "You cruel, cruel creature!" she screeched.

She ran at him. He ran at her. Mew realized too late that she was caught in the middle.

The resulting explosion blew what was left of the mountain peak to smithereens. The humans and the other Pokemon were tossed off and left to tumble to their own stops. Mew's thick force field had shattered, and in the process, so had she. Mew stopped floating, crumpling to the ground and moving no more.

***AN: It was short, and I personally hated this chapter. It was SO hard to write. I feel like I lost my light with this story, but at least it's almost over. I'm excited because I got hit with that lightning bolt I like to call my inspiration, and I've got this AWESOME new story cooking in my Word document. I had the idea like, two days ago and I've already got thirty pages on it. WOO! **

**I want to say thanks for ALL the review you guys have given me! At this rate, we might even reach 300! Wouldn't that be epic? I think it would. School starts on Wednesday, so expect updates even faster. Seriously. I write more when I'm procrastinating other stuff.**

**Happy birthday to Amber Ice Fox, because that's what besties are for. :D*  
**


	37. Divine Intervention

_"I love the way that your heart breaks, with every injustice and deadly fate. Here you are, down on your knees again, trying to find air to breathe again, and only surrender will help you now, I love you please see and believe again" - Flyleaf "Again"_

37 Divine Intervention

"_Murderer!_" Yacaeli screeched.

"_Traitor!_" Arceus thundered.

Yacaeli let out a deep, bone rattling roar. The entire mountain shook with her fury. Arceus retaliated with his own furious screech, and the two engaged in a vicious battle once again.

Dawn had been tossed off the mountain, but she had miraculously not been thrown very far. There was a slight pain in her wrist, and she guessed it was sprained. Paul was already on his feet and making his way over to her, concern evident on his face.

Funny. The first emotion she had ever seen Paul show and it was concern—for _her._

Anxious, she looked around for the others. Drew had Max in his arms, and May was stumbling to get to them. Further down, Brock was bloody, but most of it was from what Yacaeli did to him earlier. His backpack was beside him, having somehow remained on his shoulders the entire time. He was rifling through it, and finally pulled out a pair of pants and threw them at Misty.

She kept looking, worried that the one she was most concerned about was already lost, when she saw him. Ash lay on his back, covered in dirt, and not moving.

Dawn crawled over to him, Paul trailing after her as he tried to think of what to do. She reached his broken form, and with shaking hands grabbed his arms. "Ash?" she whispered, tears keeping her voice from going any louder. "Are you okay?"

When he did not reply, the blunette listened to his rugged breathing (thank Arceus… er, no, don't thank him. He did this to Ash. But at least Ash was alive) and placed her hands on his chest. She flinched as she felt the ribs, clearly not in their right places.

What if his spine was broken? Could he live if that was so? She closed her eyes and fought to remember all those classes her mom had signed her up for. The spinal cord controlled all the nerves in the body. If that had been broken, Ash may never move again.

"Dawn," Paul warned. He was getting nervous, as the battle of ferocious Legendaries was getting closer. "Can we move him?"

She shook her head. "We'll just injure him more." Her fingers trailed down to his wrist, tapping the bracelet gently. "There is nothing we can do right now."

*************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

Above, on the mountain top, Yacaeli had sunk her teeth into Arceus' shoulder. She felt his cold, silver blood on her tongue, and it tasted sweet. Revolted, Yacaeli let go, but doing so allowed him to impale her with the spikes on his middle.

While she recoiled from the pain, Arceus took the upper hand and butted the Sky Cat with his head. She fell, and again, he took the advantage. With a stamp of his foot, the ground opened up, revealing bubbling lava. Abruptly, it shot up in a fiery plume. His Earth Power attack was greater than she'd been expecting, and she barely rolled out of the way in time.

Shaymin had scuttled to back to the top of the mountain, panic coursing through him like a disease. Mew hadn't moved. She remained motionless on the cold, hard stone, her fur ruffling in the ever-present wind. He hurried over to her, terrified. Was she alive? Injured? Was there anything he could do if she was?

Suicune struggled over the edge, following the little hedgehog. He shook himself and limped after Shaymin. "Is she okay?"

Shaymin looked up at the other Pokemon with huge, terrified eyes. "I don't know. I don't… I don't think she's breathing."

Suicune's expression mimicked Shaymin's. If Mew was dead… he couldn't bear to think of what would happen.

What would he tell Lucario?

No, she had to be alive. He nudged her broken form, listening for breath. He could hear none due to the wind, but he felt a heartbeat. "She's alive," he told his friend.

"Oh thank Arceus!" Shaymin cried, collapsing on her unconscious form. "I was _so_ worried she was a goner!"

"We should take her to Celebi as fast as possible," continued Suicune. "She can heal her."

*************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

I blinked. The world around me was dark. _Oh great,_ I thought. _Another nightmare._

I began to wander around, hoping the illusions I saw this time wouldn't be so awful. Eventually, I came to a mirror. I don't know where the mirror came from, or why it was there, but it was. Since there wasn't anything else to do, I walked up to it.

My reflection looked a little different than I remembered myself looking. He had the same scruffy hair, but… it was a little shorter. His eyes were the same deep brown, but they had an unfamiliar glint in them, as if he knew something I didn't.

"Hey," he said. "Been a while."

"Yeah," I replied, though I wasn't sure why I was talking to my reflection. "How've you been?"

"Meh," he answered. "So-so." His knowing smirk faded, and was replaced by worry. "I think I saw Leaf die," he said quietly.

I blinked. "She did," I whispered.

"But Yacaeli can bring her back, right?" he insisted.

Uncertain, I shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so." Suddenly, an odd thought struck me. "Am I dead?" I asked.

My reflection shrugged in reply. "Kinda looks like it, doesn't it?"

I found myself nodding. "Is this the waiting place before you go to heaven or hell?" I wondered.

He surveyed the room. "Pretty sucky place to wait, if you ask me." He craned his neck, looking beyond me. "Oh look. A light."

I turned. "Is that heaven, then?"

"It could be."

Suddenly, I was scared. I didn't want to die. Honestly. Death was scary. What if I never saw Misty again until she was an old, old woman? Would she still love me? Doubtful. "I don't want to go," I said in a shaky voice.

"Silly boy, do you not remember what Madame Eulixia told you?"

I looked away from the light. There was Madame what's-her-face, with angel's wings and everything. For some reason, I wasn't surprised.

"Hey aunty," said my reflection.

She nodded to the mirror. "Fire," she said, addressing me, "have you no memory of what Madame Eulixia told you?"

I tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. Regrettably, I shook my head.

"_Follow the light, for it knows where it's going,_" she repeated, and the words gave me a de ja vu feeling. It was like trying to remember a dream from years ago.

I turned away from the two, my eyes fixed on the light. It knew where it was going, right?

"Hey!"

I twisted back around. My reflection was still in the mirror, and he had a rather indignant expression on his face. "Don't leave me here," he insisted.

I don't know how I knew what to do, but I did. I walked back to the mirror and placed my hand on its cold surface. My reflection did the same.

Suddenly, it was like my mind felt whole again. I hadn't even known a part was missing, but now it felt… complete. I blinked in shock. That wasn't what I had been expecting, but I was glad for it.

"Now go," ushered Madame so-and-so. "There are many waiting for the fire to burn again."

I listened. It was the strangest thing, like a dream that was far beyond my control. But I walked right into the light. For a moment I was blinded.

Then there was pain, and my eyes snapped open as I screamed. I saw for a heartbeat, until black spots of pain came over my eyes. There was so much noise. My ears rang deafeningly. My back felt like someone had snapped it in half. My head would not cease to throb. Things felt just _wrong_ on my body. I didn't know what to do.

"Snap out of it!"

A hand came out of the blackness and struck me across the face. I could breathe again. The spots faded away. The pain was still sharp, but it was no longer the reign of my mind. I looked and saw Misty. She was red in the face and shaking out her hand. "By Celebi, Ash, no need to scream like a girl!" Her eyes were red and furious. "Man up!"

I blinked. My breaths were coming in gasps. It was a struggle to think straight. "What's going on?" I managed.

"You were dead, that's what's going on!" she snapped.

"No he wasn't," Dawn said quietly. "We thought it was a coma, though."

"Can you move?" asked Drew.

I tried to sit up, but it only hurt more. "Yes," I lied, and I forced myself upright. It hurt _so effing bad._ But I managed to get to my feet, despite how dizzy it made me. The fact that the ground was sloping didn't help. I blinked, and saw that, up above, Yacaeli and Arceus were battling again.

I blinked again, feeling sick. I had to think. Okay, Arceus and Yacaeli were going to kill each other, so I… I had to stop them, right? But I was so tired. I wanted to sleep…

Drew walked past me, reached down, and reappeared with a pair of glasses in his hand. I stared at them, wondering why the lenses looked weird. It was as if they were warping, distorting the world I could see through them.

A sudden insight made me lunge for the glasses and tear them from Drew's hands. He made a confused sound, but I paid no attention. I placed the glasses on my face, curious as to what I would see.

And what I saw was truly amazing.

The world blurred, like my eyes had gone out of focus. But other things became clearer, like strips of air that began to glow. It was like a path had been made from the stars, a galaxy sprinkled through the air.

The pain left my mind, and I started running. My friends yelled after me, but I ignored them. The Absol fell into step beside me, and I was certain it could see the lights as well. Pikachu was riding on its head, a determined look on his face.

We reached what had once been Yacaeli's cave on the peak, now a battle arena for her and her former mate. The three birds circled above, at a loss for what to do.

Each bird left their own light, as did every swipe of Yacaeli's paw. I could see everywhere she'd been, and I could see everywhere she was going to be.

Repeatedly, she and Arceus would draw back from each other, giving me enough time to get between the two and create a fire. If I could separate them long enough, I could probably talk sense into them.

I looked down to see the blurry Absol and Pikachu smirking at me knowingly. I nodded, and they took off. They needed to distract Arceus so he wouldn't attack while I separated him and Yacaeli.

Absol blocked Arceus, barking something to him to get his attention. Arceus ignored it and tried to get around the Pokemon to aim at Yacaeli. I sprinted in front of Yacaeli's oncoming charge and thrust out my arm.

"Move, human!" she screamed. "Or you shall perish like the one before you!"

Her words hurt. She _had_ killed my father, and my grandmother. And countless other people. Maybe she deserved to die. Maybe Arceus was in the right here. Maybe…

I hesitated in creating the shield of flames a moment too long.

Arceus got so frustrated at Absol that he tried to hit him with a Hyper Beam. He missed. The fire from the bracelet didn't come fast enough to create a barrier like I'd intended.

The attack hit Yacaeli with deadly force. I was blinded by the light it made. The sound was impossibly loud. The flames rose and sucked up the remainder of the attack. Abruptly, I could see again, and she had fallen to the ground, limp and unmoving. Her fur was singed, and yet, her eyes had managed to close.

She had absorbed the power of the Genesis Stone, thinking it would make her immortal. I learned later that the Stone's powers did not work that way. Arceus would explain it woefully, crying over the body of his beloved Yacaeli.

Because the Sky Cat perished that day. As the morning light broke through the clouds, as the clouds began to clear and dissipate for the first time, Yacaeli was slain by her lover's hand.

And it was all my fault.

***AN: Gah, that took forever. I'm sorry. I'm updating while doing calculus homework, so... yeah. I didn't edit it very thoroughly. Luckily, I got started on the next chapter last night, so there won't be much more to write. **

**Thank you all so so so much for your reviews and everything! It means a lot to me. Now I'm going to do calc homework, like I should be. Bye.*  
**


	38. Mistakes

_"Love me cancerously, like a salt sore soaked in the sea. High maintenance means you're a gluttonous queen, narcissistic and mean. Kill me romantically, fill my soul with vomit then ask me for a piece of gum. Bitter and dumb, you're my sugar plum. You're awful, I love you" - Ludo "Love Me Dead"_

38 Mistakes

The fire vanished. Arceus stepped over to Yacaeli's body, nervous. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't want it to be true. He wanted it to be a mistake.

I couldn't believe it. I had hesitated, stopped by a hint of doubt, and this was the result. I had ended the lover's quarrel, and opened up an eternity of sorrow for one of them.

I could hear my friends, far behind me, gasping in shock. It had happened so quickly. The timing had been too perfect. Perfectly _wrong._ Everything had gone _perfectly wrong._

I tried to tell myself she deserved it, that she killed my father, but the fact I was trying to come up with an excuse made it even worse. Guilt had crashed down on me like a tidal wave. I had taken another life.

Someone placed their hand on my shoulder, though I hardly noticed. They said something, I think, but I'm not sure what. Maybe it was words of consolation. I don't know or care. All I could hear was the guilty beating of my heart, and the moans of misery Arceus was howling inside.

Abruptly, the great Pokemon was in front of me, his eyes turning red with tears. He towered above me, and I waited for him to crush me with one stomp of his foot. Instead, he knelt down and bowed his head. "This is all my fault," he said softly. "You tried to warn me, but I did not listen." His head snapped up. "Do you know why the dead cannot return?" he asked in a whisper.

I shook my head urgently. He needed no encouragement, and the story seemed to take over him.

"That is my fault, too," he said. Arceus looked away and focused on the sun, now rising steadily on the horizon. "I had a brother by the name of Anistan. We fought constantly, determined to obtain the power to create. That was the prize waiting for us at the end of our endless battle. The ability to make _life._

"I won," he continued. "I destroyed my brother, and I turned him into a stone. His power was condensed into that stone, such as his fantastic ability to regenerate and revive himself and others, and his gift to take the powers of others. Even though I had won, I grew frightened of what his spirit would do to me, so I hid the Genesis Stone.

"I had almost forgotten about him, but I gave the stone to Absol to have him take Yacaeli's powers, and now there is nothing I can do to turn back that clock. This was all my fault." Arceus looked down again, ashamed. "I do not deserve the great power that has been bestowed upon me."

I opened my mouth to speak, but really, I could think of nothing to say. I remained silent, mouth open like an idiot, deprived of all speech.

It was Misty who stepped up and told Arceus off.

"You can't honestly think of yourself that way!" she cried, glaring at him. "_You _created this whole world! You are a great being, right? Now get it through your divine skull that you are what you are, you did what you did, and _live with it!_ Mew, people like you make me _so_ angry! I mean, you act like everything's your fault and then you go around wallowing in self pity and it's _stupid._"

Arceus glared at her. "I killed my love," he snapped. "Approximately five minutes ago. You expect me to shrug it off like it's nothing?"

Misty shook her head. "No, I expect to not be such a baby about it and live! I mean, I can understand you being upset about Yacaeli, but you're still whining about killing your brother? Even though he was intending to kill you as well? Jeez, and I thought _my_ family was screwed up." She turned to me. "The Sky Cat is dead, Leaf is dead, I'm practically naked, and I am _sick_ of this mountain. Let's get out of here."

I blinked, the weight of Leaf and Yacaeli's deaths crashing down on me again. "Shouldn't we bury her or something?" I wondered, gesturing to Yacaeli's body.

"Leave it to her lover," she snapped. And she grabbed me by the wrist and led me away, back down to where the rest of our group waited. I looked back at Arceus and Absol, standing around Yacaeli's body with sorrow on their faces. Shaymin and Suicune rested by Mew's fallen form, speaking in low, urgent voices.

I should have said something. I should have protested against Misty, insisted that we go back and try and console Arceus. But I said nothing. I allowed myself to be dragged away from the Pokemon who were gathered so mournfully.

Everything passed in a blur after that. The last thing I remember of the mountain was Pikachu's tiny feet scampering up onto my shoulder.

***********************************************************BREAK! Away from everybody!***************************************************

Walking through the ruined town of Ciel was heartbreaking. The destruction was too much to bear, with houses and shops and even their grand stadium ruined and crumpled.

I kept looking back to the mountain and its imposing form, wondering how it could have taken so long to get up and so short to get back down. I wanted to know what was going on at its summit, no longer shrouded in clouds but still impossibly high.

"What happened here?" Dawn whispered. She clung to Paul as if he were the only thing keeping her on the ground. As if letting go of him would mean the death of her.

Jessie and James, whom we had picked up on the way down, rode on the back of some of the larger Pokemon we had between all of us.

"I can't imagine," Drew replied. "It's as if something trampled the place." He carried the weak Max on his back, walking in step with May.

"You bet something trampled it!"

I blinked at the familiar voice. Turning away from the mountain, I saw Professor Teak making her way through the rubble. Pikachu squeaked a greeting, but I could tell by her harried appearance that she wasn't here for small talk.

Teak came up to us, her short brown hair a mess and her clothes dirty. "The Pokemon!" she cried, waving her arms wildly. "Every single creature on this island went berserk! They came stampeding through the village like their lives depended on it and left destruction in their wake. We've been looking for you guys for _days!_" She crossed her arms angrily.

I looked down, as ashamed as if it had been my mother lecturing me. However, that's when I noticed where we were standing, amidst the remains of the professor's house. How did I know it was hers? There were smashed coffee mugs littered all through the rubble. She had lost everything in the rampage, from her cups to her home to her research.

"OAK!" Teak yelled unexpectedly, making us all jump. "OAK!"

There was a crashing sound, and Professor Oak came stumbling out of a house that was miraculously still standing. He coughed in the dust from whatever had fallen. "Oh!" he cried. "Ash! You guys are alright!" He rushed forwards, arms outstretched. "Delia and I were so worried you all wouldn't make it off the mountain! But you won't believe it! The Pokemon have stopped rebelling against their Trainers. Did you happen to do something up on top of the mountain?"

I was about to reply, but the eccentric Professor interrupted me by turning towards the open space and yelling, "They're back!" as loud as he possibly could.

Several people showed up at once. No less than a dozen Nurse Joys appeared, along with multiple Officer Jennys, much to the enjoyment of Brock. My mom showed up, and promptly attached herself to my body like a parasite. Yes, I was happy to see her, but _jeez_ did she have to be so clingy?

And, in case you're wondering, she asked that horrible question.

"Have you been changing your underwear every day?" she demanded, after she had covered me with kisses and hugged me to death.

I went beet red. "Mom!" I cried indignantly, which was better than telling her the truth. Remember when I said we had to burn our clothes due to lack of wood? Yeah. That's what happened to a good deal of my undergarments.

Everyone was thrilled to see us. Dawn's mom was there, and her appearance was the only thing that made Dawn detach herself from Paul. May and Max's parents were also there, all waiting for us and helping out with the rescue.

"I swear, baby, if you had taken _one more day_ I was going to go up that mountain and find you myself!" said Norman. He had May in a bear hug, while Max was being fussed over by my mother and his own.

"Look at my poor baby!" his mother cried. "He looks like he went through a dryer with rocks!"

Misty's sisters were also there, by some miracle. When they walked over to see what all the commotion was about, they nearly tripped in their heels in their hurry to embrace their sister.

Reggie, of course, made sure Paul got his fair share of embarrassing family hugs. A lady I had never met before with long, curling green hair wrapped Drew in a tender hug and cried softly on his shoulder. Now that I think about it, I had seen her at some of Drew's contests, but we had never been introduced. I assumed she was his mother.

"Gary and Rowan are on their way," Oak told us. "I'm sure they'll want to hear everything as soon as they come in from Sinnoh."

Memories were triggered, and suddenly I was dreading seeing Gary. Not because of an old rivalry, or of some unreasonable hatred, or even the fact that I owed him an Oreo milkshake every day for the next two years (which I'm trying to get an explanation on still). No, it was the idea of Leaf that made me reluctant to see my friend.

I could remember Leaf very clearly, all the way back to when I was… five? Since when? Had I known her then?

Suddenly, something clicked in my head. Now I knew why she looked familiar. I had known her long, long ago. But why had I forgotten her?

It hurt twice as much when I realized there was only one creature that could have answered that question, but she was merely a carcass on the top of a mountain now.

*******************************************************Three Days Grace is da best*********************************************************

Madame Eulixia was dead.

I don't know why, but that cut me deep. It wasn't like she was close to me, but I still felt as if I had lost someone very dear.

Gary and Rowan came, and I could hardly look at my old rival. His eyes were very swollen, and his expression stony. "Ash," he said with a nod, and that one word seemed to break him. He looked away, determined not to show his pain in front of everyone.

The three professors took me into the makeshift Pokemon Center, where the rescue teams were staying. It was an interrogation, and I felt guilty for no reason.

"Tell me," Teak said, leaning close, "is the Sky Cat real?"

I looked her in the eye and shook my head. "Not anymore."

"What happened?" all three demanded.

"Did you kill her?" Oak asked, looking proud, for some reason.

I remembered that was what I had been sent up the mountain to do. "Yes," I said. "But I hadn't meant to."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu supplied, though I was the only one who understood him.

"So… so she was real?" Teak breathed, clearly shocked.

I nodded, my eyes feeling heavy. She gasped and dropped into a chair, silent tears running down her cheeks. Honestly, sometimes I just don't understand women.

Rowan cleared his throat. "What were her powers?" he wanted to know.

So I told them. I told them everything I'd seen her do, told them about Absol and Tenebri, about Mew and Shaymin, about Arceus, about… how Paul and May and Misty had died, and how Yacaeli had brought them back. I told them about Leaf, about Jessie and James, about _everything._

The only things I kept secret were my dreams. I felt that every interaction with Cináed was something for me and no one else. Perhaps Mom, eventually, but for now, I thought I could be allowed some selfishness.

*************************************************************I'm aiming for 40 chapters*****************************************************

"We're leaving for Kanto tomorrow," Drew told me. "There's going to be a big party at your house, apparently."

I scowled as I lay on my cot. "Party for what?" I snapped.

"Everyone returning home alive," Brock said. He got onto his cot tenderly, though I think he was just milking the attention he got from Nurse Joy every time he winced.

"I'm going to ask Dawn on a date," Paul said abruptly, shocking all of us. "Anything she wants. We'll go do it."

"Are you aware you said that aloud?" questioned Drew.

Paul nodded as he stared at a hole in the ceiling. "I want to make her as happy as I possibly can."

"Who are you and what have you done with Paul?" Brock joked weakly.

Max snickered, but it turned into a low moan of pain. He was by far the most injured out of all of us. It didn't help that he was exhausting himself by practicing his new psychic powers when he thought no one was looking.

Drew stretched out on his cot and smiled to the roof above him. "Well, if Paul is going to ask Dawn out, I suppose I'll ask May. I can't be outdone by a 'heartless wretch'," he teased.

Paul rolled over and glared at him. "If I had a pillow to spare, I would use it to improve your face," he said.

"And _there's_ the Paul we know!" I laughed.

Gary laughed a little too, but it quickly died into a sigh and he went back to staring wistfully at the stars. There was a hole right above his head, giving him a gorgeous view of the celestial night.

No one dared bring up Leaf. In fact, after Gary's reaction to the conversation, we stopped talking altogether. I couldn't help but think how this night was so very much like the one before we started our journey. It was amazing how my life had taken one big loop. Absently, I pulled Pikachu closer to me, relishing in his familiarity.

_Everything is going to be fine._ Those six words, playing over and over in my head, lulled me to sleep.

***AN: So, only two more chapters left! I hope. It's what I'm aiming for. The next one is going to be Ash's dream, and then the party, but I haven't written them yet. **

**The name for my new story idea? I promised some readers I would reveal the name here, so here goes! Ahem. "Cold Blooded Killers" will be the title of my next fic. And it will be very romance-y. I will not post it soon, however. I'm going to repost my KH fics, cuz I think that needs doing. If you want to read those, wait for the repost. They will be better. I promise.*  
**


	39. Emotional Unload

_"To un-explain the unforgivable, drain all the blood and give the kids a show. By streetlight this dark night, a séance down below. There're things that I have done, you never should ever know! And without you is how I disappear, and live my life alone forever now" - My Chemical Romance "This is How I Disappear"_

39 Emotional Unload

That night, I dreamed about my father.

There was a mighty battle. I was watching my father fight. His skills were unmatched by his opponent. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride as he took down his foe's team, thinking, _that's my dad. I'm going to be just like him when I grow up._

Cináed had an Arcanine, a beautiful, powerful creature that was clearly the strongest of his team. It was the most fantastic Pokemon I had ever seen. When he commanded it, the bracelet on his wrist lit up with a warm glow, causing its moves to be even more powerful than usual. I was absolutely fascinated.

The battle was won. Cináed—no, Dad—came over to me, his Arcanine following majestically. "How did you like that, son?" he asked, giving me a cocky, sideways smile.

"It was the most amazing battle I've ever seen!" I exclaimed, my eyes shining. I felt like I was four years old, admiring my father like he was the shining light every father should be. I could honestly see the glow radiating off him.

Dad grinned even wider. It was like he had always wanted to hear me say that. I suppose being adored by one's son is the true meaning of fatherhood. "Would you like to see more?" he offered.

I could have flown, I was so happy. "Show me everything," I whispered.

And he did. It was exactly like it should have been, father teaching son how to battle, giving me all the tips and tricks that had won him so many battles.

"You've got to be quick," he'd said. "I prefer speed over brute strength."

Most of what he told me I already knew, but I didn't care. I loved every second with him. After he gave me all his battle techniques, which I'm sure took a millennium, he spun the stories of his youth.

"When I was ten," he said, grinning, "and had just received Growlithe as my starter, I took off immediately. Aunt Nerina rolled her eyes and said I'd be back, but I assured her I'd be fine. I got just outside of Lavender before I got scared and ran straight back to her." He laughed. "She was standing on the doorstep with her hands on her hips, looking at the neighbors and saying 'See? I told you'."

I laughed along with him. He told me tales of his dearest friends, Troy and Christian, whom he met in Saffron, and how the three of them tricked a crazy old man into thinking he'd caught the biggest Magikarp in the lake, when it was really one of them yanking on his line.

"…and then the bus driver said, 'Alright, everyone on the bus is green. Now, light green in the front, dark green in the back!'" Dad broke down in fits of laughter, and I did too. It was probably the funniest, most racist story I'd ever heard. I made a mental note to tell it to Drew. He'd enjoy it.

After our chuckles died away, I looked at him with glowing eyes and asked the question I'd always been afraid to ask Mom. And no, it wasn't _that _question you creepers.

"How did you meet Mom?" I asked. I felt like a teenage girl doing so, but I'd always wondered, and Mom had never wanted to tell me.

Dad sighed happily. "I was going back to Johto to defend my Championship title," he said, and his voice was dreamy. His eyes glazed over as he remembered. "She had that house all to herself, and all she ever did was garden and clean. She lived off her vegetables and, if she needed anything else, she would sell them in town. I walked by, and I told her that her tomatoes were the best-looking tomatoes I'd ever seen."

I nodded, begging him to continue.

"She blushed and giggled, and I decided it was the cutest giggle I'd ever heard. I was instantly in love. There were a lot of women in my life, Ash, don't get me wrong, but she was the only one that made me feel like that," Dad assured me. "She was filling her basket with vegetables to take into town, and asked me if I could carry them for her. I said absolutely, who wouldn't want to help a pretty little thing like her?"

He paused. "I took her to Johto with me," he said. "She had fun and enjoyed watching me battle, but I could tell she missed that little garden. So we went back as soon as we could, and then… Delia got pregnant." He blushed, but I didn't care. "I… I had a ring picked out for her. I wanted to marry her so badly, and I would have, except my mother came to me in a dream and told me that I had to kill Yacaeli if you were to live a true life."

I blinked. So that was why he left. He was going to marry Mom. He _wanted _to. But his destiny came first. It was terrible. To think that I could have had a family, and perhaps even a little brother or sister, hurt in a place I'd never really noticed before. Now that I was picturing it, I honestly wanted it. It would have been so, so perfect.

I shook myself. I needed to change the subject, and ask my only other question. "What about the bracelet?" I said, shaking my wrist. The golden band still rested on it, a perfect replica residing on my father's. "Where did it come from?"

Dad glanced down at his wrist. "Aunt Nerina said Mom left it for me to have, so I'm not really sure. My theory is that Ho-oh's Sacred Fire is stored in it, and that's what makes fire moves extremely powerful. Apparently my father, Michael Everett, was a real Ho-oh fanatic and gave this to my Mom as a parting gift when she went up the mountain."

"Did you ever meet your father?" I asked softly.

He shrugged. "Once or twice. They locked him up in the psych ward after Mom died."

Jeez, my family was frickin' screwed up. Amazing what you find out when you start asking questions. Next thing he'll tell me is that we're inbred, I'll bet.

"My time's almost up," he said somberly, and he stood up.

I jumped to my feet. "Will I see you again?" I pleaded.

Dad shrugged again. "I can't be sure. Maybe," he replied. He stepped forward and pulled me into a fatherly hug. "I really wish I could've seen you grow up, Ash. I really, really do. Do me a favor, will ya?" he asked with liquid eyes. It looked like my father was about to cry.

"Okay," I assured him. "What?"

My father reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small black box. "Give this to your mother."

I nodded, not even pausing to think that this was a dream, and that there was no way I could give it to her. I smiled at him, gave him one last hug, and then woke with only two thoughts in mind.

The first was I had to present the tiny little box in my hand to my mother, and explain to her how it got there.

The other was, _When I get back to Kanto, I'm going to get an Arcanine. _

_**************************************************************_Paragraph Break***********************************************************_  
_

The boat ride was long and boring. We didn't stop in the mainland, and headed straight for Pallet. I stayed on the deck the entire ride, enjoying the spray of the sea and the fresh air tearing through my hair. Pikachu resided on my shoulder, content to be going home.

Many conversations reached my ears as I stood on the deck. I guess no one could see me standing out on the stern. That or they just didn't think I was in earshot. This is one that passed between Paul and Drew:

"Are you gonna ask her out?" Drew questioned.

Silence from Paul.

"You said you would," he pestered.

Paul said nothing. I didn't turn around, but I think he had his book.

Drew made an exasperated sound. "Aw, come on, Paula! Don't be a girl about this. Just go ask her."

"Would you be quiet?" Paul said coldly.

"No," Drew replied. "I'm going to bother you until you ask Dawn on a date, like you said you would."

"Don't you have a bandana to give back to Lady May?" he growled.

I pictured Drew blushing. "You just _had_ to bring that up, didn't you?"

"It's not my fault you flunked eighth grade English," Paul replied coolly.

"How come you're such a coward about this?"

"I'm not a coward." Paul was bristling.

I could hear Drew's trademark smirk with a flip of his bangs. "Prove it."

Paul sighed. I imagined him setting down his book and putting his face in his hands. "I already asked," he said in a low voice.

"And?" Drew prompted. "Are you going to take her on a moonlit stroll down the beach? Or perhaps a—."

"She said no."

"She said _no?_" he repeated in disbelief.

Paul said nothing. I couldn't believe it. Why would Dawn say no to Paul? Dawn was head over heels for him!

I heard Drew lean back in his chair. "I'm sorry," he said.

Again, Paul was silent. For some reason, I was certain this rejection from Dawn was tearing him apart inside. Jeez, I sound like a girl, saying this, and Paul sounds even girly-er, but it's true. Guys have feelings too, and we can get crushed just as easily as girls can. We just don't show it.

After a few more minutes of sitting in silence, Paul mumbled something about going to take a nap, and he grabbed his book and left. I turned around to see Drew pull May's bandana out of his pocket and set it on the table. After a moment he snatched it up again and strolled away.

I exchanged a few words with Pikachu about what we had just overheard, but suddenly Misty and May showed up and sat down at the same table, and I fell silent. Sure, it probably wasn't right to eavesdrop like I was, but I was really curious about what girls talked about when guys weren't around.

May was wearing her bandana, so it was safe to assume that she and Drew were on good terms.

"I think we got really lucky on the mountain, don't you?" May remarked.

"Oh yeah," Misty replied. "Can you imagine if one of us hit our period on that mountain?"

Okay, that was _not_ what I was hoping to hear. I shook my head, trying to clear that from my thoughts. It wasn't working.

Abruptly, Dawn showed up, her arm done up in a proper cast, and the conversation took a turn for the gossip.

"Why did you turn down Paul?" Misty wanted to know. That's what I love about her. Right to the point, every time. Although, what she said on the mountain was still paining me. I wished more than anything we had stayed with Arceus for a little while longer.

I turned around, confident I could get away with watching this discussion, as they were extremely focused on each other. Dawn sat down slowly, her eyes trained to the table and her cheeks an odd pink color. "I… I can't go out with him," she whispered.

"Why not?" Misty demanded. "You like him, right?"

"I love him," she said, and I could hear sobs rising up in her throat.

"Then why did you say no?" May asked gently.

Dawn shook her head and rested it on her hand. "I killed him," she said in a harsh whisper. "I'm an evil, evil witch. He deserves better."

"You didn't kill him," said Misty. "A frickin' Mightyena killed him. And you broke its neck in return. You avenged him, and now he wants to go on a date with you. I think he likes you, Dawn. Why the hell did you turn him down?"

Her shoulders were shaking. "I just feel s-so guilty," she sobbed. "I can't look at him without hating myself. It's too painful. I should die."

The other two were silent as their friend cried. Finally, May placed her hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up. "Dawn," she said in a soft voice, "did you ever think that this may be your second chance? That maybe, just maybe, someone wants you to be happy? I wasn't raised to believe in God, but I certainly think that He might be giving you another shot. Don't you?"

Dawn was very quiet. Even her sobs ceased. Misty glanced between May and Dawn in wonder. "Yeah," she agreed, nodding at May. "I think you're right. This is your second chance, Dawn. Don't blow it."

The blunette let out a shaky laugh. She wiped her eyes, smiling. "You _are_ right," she said.

"'Course we are," May said, grinning. "We're your best friends."

"And now," Misty proclaimed as she stood from the table, "we're going to set right what you messed up." She grabbed Dawn by the wrist.

"Wait, what's going on?" Dawn cried.

May took hold of her other hand, laughing victoriously. "Paul's in his room, right?" she asked. Misty nodded.

"Oh, you are _not_ doing this to me!" she exclaimed. "Some best friends you are!"

I watched them drag the struggling blunette into the living quarters of the ship, and had to laugh. Poor, poor Dawn.

Later on, Gary came out to talk to his grandfather. It was a very long conversation, so I won't tell the whole thing, but just the most significant piece.

"I saw Leaf," Gary said quietly.

Oak adjusted himself in his seat. "Ash told me."

"She's dead now."

The old man stiffened. "I… I know," he said slowly. Finally, he swallowed and managed to ask the question that was clearly driving him crazy. "How did that happen?"

"She gave her life for me," he said shortly.

"Ah," Oak said. "Ash left that part out." He paused. "You weren't on the mountain."

"No, but a part of me was," Gary said. "The part that held everything I knew about Leaf was there."

Oak blinked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know. But it's the truth." Gary was quiet for a long time. "I think I love her."

"Gary," Oak said gently, watching his grandson in sympathy, "I know that death is hard, especially when you're young. But, you see, that's the thing. You're young. You may have felt like you were 'in love', but I can assure you it was just you hormones. You will find someone else."

I winced on Gary's behalf. With a bitter expression he turned away from his grandfather. "For some reason, I thought you'd be more understanding."

Oak then got very angry at Gary, and I felt like an intruder listening to it. I managed to leave unnoticed, abandoning them to the setting sun and their own angry words.

***AN: One more chapter! Oh, it just makes me so happy! By the by, that song up there is my FAVE MCR song. If you want a good song, go listen to that. It's the best.  
**

**I'm going to write a book of myths for the Anumics, complete with Paul's commentary as he reads it. It'll be REALLY short, and it might take a while. I'm still going to repost my KH fic first, so if anyone's interested in reading that, it will be up shortly after Sky Cat is completed. Ta ta, my lovely readers! Until next chapter!*  
**


	40. The Grande Finale

_"She held the world upon a string, but she didn't ever hold me. She said she won the world, at a carnival, but she couldn't ever win me, because she couldn't ever catch me" -Panic At the Disco "She Had The World"_

40 The Grand Finale

It was late when we docked in Kanto. The boat trip only took a day, because Johto and Kanto were so close. Mom, fighting off a large yawn, told everyone that the beds weren't ready, and the floor would have to suffice. No one complained. We were all about ready to keel over, and a carpeted floor would be welcome after a week or so of sleeping on the rock hard mountain.

How long had we been on the mountain? Was it a week? I had lost count of the days. My dreams that night were full of numbers like those on a calendar, and memories of my father from the night before.

The next morning, I woke up to sounds I hadn't heard in what felt like an eternity. There was a clunking of pots and pans in the kitchen, the sound of my mother humming to herself while she cleaned, and the patter of her footsteps as she bustled from one end of the kitchen to the other.

The living room was absolutely cramped with bodies strewn about the floor. The soft snores of my friends were the only sign that they were alive. I couldn't be too careful; after the mountain, I wouldn't be surprised if half of us died in our sleep.

Cautiously, I stepped over my slumbering friends and tiptoed into the kitchen. "Mom?" I said.

She jumped, spinning around. "Oh, it's you, Ash," she giggled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Without thinking, I reached out and hugged her. She hugged me right back, as was Mom instinct, I suppose. I realized just how much taller I was than her now, how frail her body seemed under my arms. I didn't want to let go. I hadn't hugged my mom like that in forever.

Finally, the thought of one of my friends waking up and seeing me like this embarrassed me enough to pull away. "Sorry," I murmured.

"You don't have to be sorry for hugging me, Ash, honey!" Mom exclaimed, closing her eyes and smiling. "I'm your mother. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Hang on," I said. I reached into my pocket, remembering the promise I'd made Dad. The box was still resting in my jeans. Slowly, I pulled it out.

Mom stared at me. "What is it? A ring? For who?"

I met her eyes and for some reason, I felt as nervous as if I were proposing to her myself. "It's for you."

She gasped. "You bought me a ring? Where did you get the mon—?"

"It's not from me, it's from Dad."

Mom's jaw fell open. "C-Cináed? B-but you never met him."

"He left me things on Oupavos," I told her, feeling the lie burn in my chest. "This… he said this was for you." Silently, I placed the box in her hands.

She stood there, shocked. Her fingers trembled, the box dancing in her palms. She tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat.

Abruptly, she swallowed and slipped the box into the pocket of her apron. "Breakfast?" she managed.

I immediately felt guilty. "You don't have to—."

"Since when do you have a conscience?" she retorted, and I think it was the first time I ever heard her tone go sharp. "Now, are waffles fine?"

Yes, waffles were perfect.

As I tucked in to wonderful breakfast of homemade waffles, everyone else began waking up. They trickled into the kitchen and sat down around the tiny table. Mom set plates in front of them before their eyes were even fully open. I heard the TV flick on, and the excited shout of Dawn crying, "Phineas and Ferb!"

Drew just nodded and tried not to nod off into his syrup. May occupied another chair, busying herself by tying her hair in her bandana. Misty took the final seat, tearing into her food like she'd never seen such a thing before.

Paul wandered in, saw that there were no seats available, and groaned. I snickered slightly. De ja vu, no? He grabbed a plate, piled three waffles on it, drowned them in syrup, and left the kitchen. I noticed he sat next to Dawn on the couch. Her cheeks turned pink, but she distracted herself by turning up the volume on the TV.

Max and Brock eventually came for their breakfast, and I had to place Dawn's in front of her so she would eat. I guess _Phineas and Ferb_ takes priority before eating.

Pikachu enjoyed his perch on my shoulder, though he occasionally had a spaz attack and had to run around the house to calm down. Mom was bustling all over the place, setting up the party. The phone was ringing off the hook. Everyone else's families who'd met us at Oupavos hadn't been able to make the same boat as us, and were going to get here around five this evening.

Wonderful smells wafted from the kitchen. Mom made cakes and pies and cookies and my stomach rumbled with all the scents. She had to push us out of the house so we wouldn't sneak bites. We wound up at Oak's lab, chatting it up with Tracey.

Or at least most of us did. Brock had gone off to gawk at the girls on the beach and Arceus knew where Dawn and Paul were. May and Drew bickered, heated arguments about petty things springing up between the two. Max—who was thoroughly enjoying his wheelchair—and I could hardly stand it.

Misty said something about helping Mom. Whatever. I wasn't too sure I wanted to be around her right then. For some reason, I couldn't shake the anger I felt at her for saying what she did to Arceus.

"Why can't you just accept I'm a better Coordinator than you and get over your jealousy?" Drew snapped.

May gaped at him. "I can't believe you just said that! You pompous grass head!"

He looked a little disappointed. "You really need a different insult," he told her.

"Call him a cabbage head," Tracey suggested.

"Gay is a good one," offered Max.

May's gape turned to her brother. "I can't believe you just said that! 'Gay' is not a term we use, Max, especially not as an insult."

The three of us rolled our eyes. "Just trying to help," I muttered.

Drew sighed. "I guess I'll forever be a pompous grass head."

"Oh no you won't," May declared. She folded her arms and looked at him smugly. "Fag."

We four guys all fell over anime style. Well, Max couldn't, as he was stuck in his wheelchair, but you get the idea. "Oh, so 'gay' is bad, but 'fag' is totally okay," he said accusingly.

Drew was in shock. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"Adam Lambert wishes he were you," she continued silkily. I had never seen such a smirk on May's face.

"Ooh," I said, wincing. "That was below the belt."

Drew glared at her and flipped his bangs out of the way. "At least I'm not some insecure little girl," he shot at her.

May just laughed. "That was the best you could do?"

He shrugged. I could tell he was getting his composure back. "Well, you're the one who's in love with a fag."

Her face went blood red. "Excuse me?" she cried.

"It's a shame, really," he said pitifully. He turned around, walking away. "I mean, if you think I'm gay, you can never have me."

"What makes you think I _want_ you?" May exclaimed.

I suddenly remembered May sobbing in the meadow, claiming she had died before she got to tell Drew she loved him. Hm. I wonder where that memory came from.

"I'm walking away, May," he teased, glancing back. He shoved his hands in his pockets, as if he were certain May would regret it if she let him leave now.

"The man I'm in love with is not gay," May said defiantly. "Meaning he's _not_ you."

I thought this would hurt Drew, but he shrugged again. "Suit yourself." He made his way down the hill. I'm sure he was smirking the entire time.

May watched him for a little bit before she stomped her foot angrily. "Ooh, I _hate_ him!" she shrieked, and she sprinted after him.

"Ah, love," Tracey said romantically. He looked at me. "Are Misty's sisters coming to the party?"

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon Max, let's get out of here." I began to wheel him down the hill.

"Hey!" Tracey called, following. "You didn't answer me!"

I exchanged a grin with Max and put the wheelchair in turbo. We raced down the hill, Max whooping in the seat and me leaning on top of him so as not to topple the chair over. Tracey couldn't keep up with the runaway wheelchair.

Naturally, we crashed at the base of the hill, laughing like maniacs. Max fixed his glasses and fell back in the grass. I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. The grass was warm and soft and absolutely perfect. A clear summer sky rested above us. I pulled some grass out of the earth and threw it at Max. He retaliated likewise. When Tracey finally reached us, we were cramping up from laughing so much and coated in a fresh layer of grass.

***************************************************************Paragraph Break**********************************************************

Mounds. That was the only accurate term to describe how much food there was. Mounds. Of. Food.

I traversed the house and backyard, happily plucking food off of every plate I passed and sticking it in my mouth. It was _so good._ After however long I'd been on the mountain of eating marshmallows and granola bars, it was wonderful to get something wholesome inside me. And my mom had cooked almost everything, which made it ten times better.

Outside, Mom and Misty had strung lanterns across the yard. Tables with plastic tablecloths were set up on the edges of the yard. In the center, Drew and Brock were engaged in a game of Ninja. Max was showing his father his newfound ability, bending spoons and levitating crackers. May and Misty chatted over by the punch, and after overhearing their last conversation, I wasn't eager to find out what they were talking about.

I noticed Paul standing at one of the tables, and decided to join him.

"Hey Paul," I greeted cheerily.

He spun around in fright. His cheeks were stuffed, and crumbs clung to his lips and chin. I fell over laughing at the sight of him.

With narrowed eyes, he swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "So I have a penchant for Oreos," he said thickly.

I looked at the tray of Mom's homemade Oreo platter (it consisted of Oreo balls, Oreo cheesecake slices; anything with the term 'Oreo' in its name was on that platter) and nearly passed out from laughing again. He had eaten almost the whole plate. I couldn't believe it.

"You—you ate the whole thing!" I sputtered, cackling.

"At least my consumption is contained to one area of the party," he growled. "You have cleaned out how many plates so far?"

"Don't be jealous that I'm winning," I said.

"It's not a race, Ketchum," he replied.

"Hi Paul!" Dawn called happily.

He choked on his next Oreo. I offered him my punch, but he waved me away. Dawn appeared beside him, beaming. Paul swallowed dryly and cleared his throat. "Hello," he managed.

"I want to talk to you," she said, her voice all bubbles.

Sensing that this was something I probably shouldn't be involved in, I slunk away. Drew and Brock's game was still going strong, so I settled to observe that.

Gary came over and sat down on the grass next to me. He drained his drink and rested his head on his knees. He didn't say a word to me, not even an insult about my hat. I was instantly worried.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"No," he snapped. "But thanks for asking."

I stared at him. "You don't have to be a sour Skitty," I told him. "It's a party. Enjoy yourself."

"I can't," he said. "I can't stop… thinking about Leaf."

I immediately felt guilty. "Oh," was all I said.

Drew successfully defeated Brock. With narrowed eyes, Brock called out Sudowoodo, and a Pokemon battle sprung up between the two. Drew's mom and Brock's father came out to watch, as did several other adults.

To my surprise, Drew lost. I blinked in confusion, because his Absol could have squashed Brock like a bug, but I then remembered the awful fate that had befallen the poor creature, and I felt guilty again.

Everyone was outside, socializing and whatnot, until Professor Oak showed up with multiple bottles of Chardonnay. All the adults kinda ushered us kids back into the house and Mom broke out the wine glasses.

"Um, Ash," she called as she headed out the back door, glasses chinking against each other, "would you guys mind staying inside? You can watch a movie or something."

Well, that really showed how much they all missed us.

I shrugged and said okay. She paused to pick a blade of grass from my hair before heading outside. Something glinted on her left hand, and I had to smile. _There you go, Dad,_ I thought.

"Now what?" asked Max.

I looked around at the intricate party decorations strung up around the house. "Truth or dare?" I suggested.

My idea was met with angry scowls and yells of "NO!" I chuckled at them. "Then what should we do?"

We decided on a movie. I found the popcorn in the kitchen and made as many as the microwave could stand. While it popped, I asked myself if a party could be more un-party-ish.

I came back to find the curtains drawn and the room dark save for the glow of the TV. May and Drew sat next to each other, knees touching. Max was seated near the end of the sofa in his wheelchair, with Misty on the sofa and an open space that I assumed was for me. Paul was sitting on the overlarge recliner, Dawn in his lap. Because that's a scene we all want to walk in on.

The previews ended shortly after I distributed the popcorn to everyone. Gary sat on the floor, leaning against the couch. He looked morbidly depressed. I stepped around him and sat down next to Misty. She probably wanted me to put my arm around her or something, but I honestly did not want to.

As soon as the movie got going, the doorbell rang. In order to get out of the awkward atmosphere with Misty, I raced off to answer it. Pikachu scampered after me, chu-ing in delight.

I flung the door open and found myself staring at a girl about five feet tall. She had short pink hair that hardly went past her ears and the strangest blue eyes I'd ever seen. They didn't look human. An enormous bruise was present on her cheek.

She opened her mouth, and it seemed that speaking was very difficult for her. "Ash," she said, but it came out sounding like "ah sh." I wondered if she was deaf or something.

I nodded. She looked around wildly before pushing past me. "Whoa!" I cried, and I whipped around to tell the girl to get the hell outta my house. To my confusion, Pikachu was nuzzling her with affection. "Pikachu?" I questioned.

The girl glanced at me, and with a flash she was no longer a girl. Mew hovered a foot above the carpet of my entryway, holding Pikachu in her short arms. Her face was badly bruised, but at least she looked better than the last time I saw her.

"Hi Ash," she greeted, and her voice no longer sounded like someone who couldn't speak. She took in my shocked expression. "Celebi healed me," she explained.

"Oh," I said. I swallowed. "Well, that's good."

"Daddy is here too," she continued, nuzzling Pikachu.

Slowly, I made the connection. Daddy equals Arceus. Oh _shit._

With trembling hands, I opened the front door again. There stood Arceus, on my front porch, taller than the door. I would have laughed if I hadn't been terrified out of my wits.

"Greetings," he rumbled.

Arceus was going to kill me. He was blaming me for Yacaeli's death and now he'd come back to kill me. Oh Uxie. I was going to _die._

Mew giggled, and I swear Arceus smiled. "I am not here to kill you," he said.

My wrist abruptly felt cold. I hadn't noticed, but the bracelet had been heating up. It still worked. I stared up at Arceus, and wondered if I should invite him in or something.

"I won't be long," he said.

I swallowed and leaned on the door. I had absolutely no idea as to what he was going to say.

"As you know, Celebi is a daughter of mine with the ability to travel time, at least in her forest," he said. "I realized that if I can create something with that ability, I myself must have it as well. I just need to discover it."

I blinked. Was he saying he could turn back the clock?

Arceus chuckled. "I am," he said, reading my mind (literally). "I think I will be able to turn time back, at least to before Leaf dies, the human girl. That is her name, correct?"

I nodded, stupefied. He could save her. Save both of them.

The great Pokemon nodded inside. "Go and get your scientist friend. I wish to speak with him."

It took me a moment, but my feet finally understood the command and I padded off to find Gary. He was exactly as I left him, sadly slumped against the couch. "Door's for you, Gary," I said with a stupid grin on my face.

Gary rolled his eyes at me and sorrowfully rose to his feet. He left the room in an aura of depression. I smirked and sat down again, swinging my arm around Misty's shoulders. She jumped and stared at me. I jutted forward a bit and kissed her nose. She gaped. "What the hell!" she cried.

"Nothing," I said coyly. It was then I spied Paul and Dawn, and I wished I hadn't done what I just did so I would not look like a hypocrite. "No one needs to see that," I called at them.

They pulled apart, eyes closed. "You're supposed to watch the movie, not us," Paul replied.

"My brother is in the room!" May cried, appalled.

"And he's had his fair share of these experiences, hasn't he?" Dawn pointed out. She slunk her arms around Paul's neck and kissed him again.

I looked to the back door. "Oh hi Johanna!" I said loudly.

The happy couple jumped apart. "Mom!" Dawn cried.

There was a flash. "Oh you two are so cute!" she exclaimed, giggling as if she were tipsy. "I'm going to go show Delia. Delia!" she called, brandishing her camera, and she left the room.

We were silent, save for the sounds of the movie. Finally, Paul cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "that was awkward."

"Ha ha," Drew laughed. "You got caught. Even Max never got caught!"

"Guys!" Gary shouted, stampeding into the room. "This is amazing! It's the most wonderfully fantastic thing since the invention of the Master Ball!"

"And it is?" Misty prompted. She was thoroughly enjoying my arm around her.

Gary took a deep breath. "I can't tell you," he decided, catching my eye. "You'll find out soon enough."

After another few minutes of pestering Gary and begging him to reveal his wonderfully fantastic thing, the others discovered that he was as stubborn as he was smug. Gary was relentless in keeping his secret. I could understand that.

"Oh," said Gary, as if it were an afterthought. "Drew, he wants to see you."

Drew stared at him. "Who?"

I exchanged a sly grin with Gary. "You'll see," he said.

With a puzzled expression, Drew went to the door. I had to wonder what Arceus could possibly have to say to him, until Drew came bounding back in the room not a minute later. "Look!" he cried, beaming.

The majestic Absol from the mountain padded after Drew, looking immensely proud. Pikachu rode on his back, gripping his lone horn for safety.

"The Absol from the mountain said he wants to come with me!" he continued. "And he can _talk!_"

"Arceus has granted me with the power of speech," the Absol confirmed, and there was a boastful tone to his voice. "However, the choice to follow the green furred Trainer was completely my own."

Drew could not stop smiling. "I'm going to show my mom," he said happily, and he skipped out the back door.

"Hey!" Misty snapped. "What did I say about skipping?"

This caused us all to split open in laughter. Even Gary and Paul were cracking up.

I'm not sure who threw first, but a full blown popcorn war started, which resulted in popped kernels in the couch cushions, under the chairs, and on the shelves. I don't think I ever laughed so much in my life.

**********************************************************Last Paragraph Break!********************************************************

"It's the final round of the Isshu League, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum, is down to his last Pokemon." The announcer's voice reverberated around the stadium, echoed by the crowd's vibrant cheers.

Pikachu panted heavily, having just awoken from fainting. I grinned at him, silently telling him that this was a battle he didn't have to win. The newest addition to our team could take care of it. My opponent smiled playfully. Clearly he thought he had already won.

I smirked. He was going to regret that. My eyes searched the stadium, and I saw Misty and Mom jumping up and down, screaming my name. It wasn't hard to imagine my father next to them, cheering just as loudly. I scanned the crowd, finding the pink haired girl with strange blue eyes. Next to her, a man with gray-white hair smirked down at me, fingering the ornate, yellow spiked collar around his neck. At his side was a beautiful woman, with creamy white hair and eyes that shone like the moon. She waved, and I saw the flowing tattoos that ran up her arms. Almost regrettably, I returned my attention to the battlefield.

"This is it," I murmured. My hand slipped into my pocket, pulling out my final asset. The pokeball felt warm in my palm, a reminder of what was inside. Holding the button down, I pitched the ball into the field. "Go!" I yelled. "Cináed!"

There was a brilliant flash of light, and standing on the field was my beautiful Arcanine. He shook out his mane and met his competitor's eyes with a knowing glare. The bracelet heated up, feeling his presence.

It was a battle that Dad would have been proud of.

***AN: Oh my gosh that was the best story I've ever done. I am proud. It took 189 pages of Microsoft Word but I DID IT! Thank you all for sticking with it to the end and reviewing and everything! I owe the completion of this story to you. And Amber Ice Fox, who was breathing down my neck and helped me with the ending, cuz before she got to it, it sucked. Seriously. Luv ya girl! I'm sad to end this story. Truly. It's almost painful to write these words.  
**

**Farewell, everyone, until my next story! In like, a week or so, if you like Kingdom Hearts. Or until I finish at least five chapters for Cold Blooded Killers. K? Bye!***

_The Legend of the Sky Cat_

_by _

_Kissy Fishy_

_~End~  
_


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